Draco & His Creature Obsession
by Lil Nezumi
Summary: Permanently OH HOLD - HPDM story. Another Harry runs away from the Dursley's and meets up with a certain silver-eyed Slytherin. Draco is studying something unexpected, but it's something Hagrid can relate to.
1. Prologue Running Away

**Title:** Draco's Creature Obsession

**Author:** Lil Nezumi

**Characters**: Harry, Draco, Remus, Severus, possible OC's

**Warning:** HP/DM Slash, male/male love, wizard bonds(maybe), sap story and Happily Ever After is what I am going for. If you don't like it, lump it and don't even bother to read this story just to have something to flame.

**Disclaimer:** Harry Potter-verse and characters belong to J.K. Rowling & WB. Sigh, I'm just borrowing them for a short time. I make no money from this. I write because I feel like it and suing me for this story is of no use to you.

**Author's Note I:** I have read so many HPDM stories that there may be a slight chance that this story will look like some of the others out there. This is an Alternate Universe type of story. Also, I have not yet read ToOP or HBP and will be using what parts of ToOP that I have gleaned from the other HP FanFiction stories that I have read.

**Author's Note II:** I do know that Sirius Black has disappeared behind the 'Veil' at the Department of Mysteries and that remains true in this story. This story veers away from HBP, therefore it is AU or a "what if" for year six.

**LEGEND:**

"Normal Talk"

'_Thoughts or Emphasis_'

(...Parseltongue...)

--

Prologue - Running Away!

--

Harry Potter was sitting upstairs in the smallest room at No. 4 Privet Drive, meaning his designated room. He was practicing his wandless magic skills, figuring that since they could not be traced or detected and that since he had those abilities, he should at least improve them.

He figured that out with the help of Dobby, the Malfoy family's old house-elf. Dobby had confessed, during one of their numerous conversations when Harry went to "raid" the kitchen at Hogwarts, that house-elves can change the frequency output of the magic that they use to match that of any wand in the area.

That's why Harry was nailed by the Ministry during his second year. During his third year when his magic got out of control, he unconsciously channeled it through his wand therefore triggering the alarms at the Ministry for "Underage" use of magic. That's one of the many reasons that students are given wands. To monitor their magic use, but also to keep track of the students' locations and their activities.

Harry had already done a wandless spell, this summer, from a questionable and dusty grimmoire that he had found in a little antique shop that his aunt frequents. It somehow allowed him to improve his memory to the point that it was now photographic thus greatly improving his reading and retaining skills. As a result he was able to memorize all of his texts from every Hogwarts year to the present and from any book that did not have wizarding pictures or any known to be self-updating.

Harry had basically spent the first two weeks of his summer absorbing every book that he could lay he hands on, from motorcycle and computer magazines belonging to his cousin Dudley to the _'Grey's Anatomy, Symptoms and Syndromes for the Average Family_' on his Aunt Petunia's scanty bookshelf.

His godfather, Sirius Black, had given Harry, prior to his death a book on _'Animagus Transformations: The Animal & You_' and a book compiled from Marauders' personal journals from their fourth to seventh years. Swallowing the knowledge within these two particular books Harry was able to discover his animagus forms. Yes, forms. He discovered that he had two and for some odd reason they both had a feline base to them.

His first form was that of a tiny fuzzy black Persian kitten with fur fluffed up messily and huge green eyes. The other is a gryphon, where his hind body was that of a tawny red-gold lion, with the front head, claws and wings of an eagle whose colouration was in golden red-browns and yellows. These elegant wings incorporated all of Harry's personal colours, including bits of black and red highlights.

His scar was barely visible in both forms by a very slight discoloration, pale gray patch hidden by tufty and cow-licked black fur in his kitten form and pale goldish brown smear in his gryphon form. It was something that he had unconciously done, but wasn't about to question the fact that his most noticable scar in his human form was not so noticable in his animagus ones.

Harry, from a technical stand point, knew that more animagus forms were possible, as long as the base form was the same. He strongly suspected that once you had your base form it could lead to other forms, as long as they remained close or similar to the original base.

He followed every step correctly and instinctively knew that the first animagus transformation set up the base form. If he wasn't instinctively tuned to magic he would never have discovered this lost fact. After all, animagus transformations was just another "fancy" branch of magic connected to transfigurations and transfigurations can be multiplied to further change an object more than once or adding changes for a cumulative effect, thus changing the object or creature drastically.

Harry had developed a thirst for reading and absorbing all books that came across his path, especially after that wandless spell; therefore he knew that his stay in Surrey was quickly coming to an end. He needed to go out into the world and learn from doing and seeing rather than accepting everyone's word, especially about the Wizarding World and his place in it.

His relatives had wanted him gone from their sight for the longest time, but in order to accomplish this there were certain things that needed to be taken care of first. So he devised a plan on the sly in conjunction with his aunt.

The important thing was that blasted blood bond Harry had with his aunt. It needed to be dealt with in such a fashion that Harry would be protected, but also that the wards surrounding No. 4 Privet Drive would continue to register him residing at his relatives' house protecting them as well.

The solution that Harry came up with and surprisingly with his aunt's assistance was for him to carry a vial of her blood with him and when he leaves, leave one of his behind. He was able to spell the vial containing his blood to include his magical signature in order to fool the additional wards that were placed around the house.

The other problem was those bloody letters to inform the Order that he was safe. Again the solution was simple. Harry would leave Hedwig behind to deliver those letters, on the condition that she be watered and fed by his aunt. He would in turn create a letter, magically copy it, then post-date them and sign them. He placed these letters in a box that he created for them and one letter every three days would appear on top of the box in order for Hedwig to deliver.

These two major points took his aunt about another week to make up her mind, but when Harry pointed out that he will be away for the remainder of summer and may never come back to them after his sixth year is finished. He explained to her that, "As long as the illusion is maintained for this summer only, no one should come looking for me."

"I don't know how much you know of my father, but he was able to secretly change his form into that of another animal when he needed to. I can do that too and that will help you to take me out of the house without any of those people, who are watching the house and me, know that I've gone."

She was shocked when he changed into the tiny black kitten, but acknowledged that yes he would be easy to hide, if he climbed into one of her oversized handbags. She finally agreed to the plan and knew that her husband would be glad to get rid of this dead weight. Anyway one vial of blood was no different from donating blood in her mind.

Harry took the time his aunt had needed to think it over and prepared himself, including all of his belongings. He expanded the interior of his trunk in order to be able to carry all of his school items, his books and what not. He packed all the extra books that he knew his relatives no longer required and that he found in the attic while he was cleaning it. He also bribed Dudley with a few spells to remove and reduce the fat in his body in exchange for some books he found online and available delivered within 24 hours.

He kept most of the books that interested him and most were general interest subjects like art, music, auto repair, many computer books and the medical books he found. Besides the books were muggle and therefore with his new photographic memory there would be no hindrance caused by moving pictures or the book's self-updating abilities of most magical texts.

He added a few other things like several of the "_broken_" CD players, a "_broken_" I-POD and a couple of the "_broken_" laptops that used to belong to his cousin and that he had "_fixed_" when he fiddled with this wandless magic.

He'd also purchased special tools he needed to repair them with and brought them with him, including an old manual typewriter. He even bribed Dudley to get him regular tools for working around the house, like he was used to doing around here. Just in case he needed his own set.

He triaged his clothes in order to get rid of the ones that have seen better days, creating more space in his trunk and promising himself to purchase more once he had the chance. He was even looking forward to hunting down a magical trunk with more than one compartment.

He placed the vial of his aunt's blood securely in a hidden compartment that he created with wandless magic within his trunk and then shrank his trunk to the size of a large matchbox. He then placed his trunk into a small green and black pouch with a golden cord, hanging it about his neck. He then transfigured the pouch to look like a very large cat collar, about an inch and a half to two inches wide, with round diamond and emerald studs, small animal I.D. tags and tiny round snitch looking bell that fluttered and tinkled softly from time to time.

Harry spelled the collar to never be removed or lost by any means or under any circumstance, regardless of his current form. He also spelled the collar to activate an automated counter spell if anyone tried a '_Finite Incantatem_' on the collar or himself in either of his animagus forms. The counter spell would lock Harry into his animagus forms for 24 hours, hopefully giving him the chance to escape any dangerous situation.

It would also allow for him to change to any of his animagus forms, but not allow him to take his human one. That way no one would find out who he was and if his kitten form was threatened, well then, his gryphon form should help scare the begeesus out of whoever was trying to harm him.

The day came to leave and he was ready. He was dressed in well fitting dark blue skater jeans that widened drastically and pooled near his ankles. A black long-sleeve T-shirt with a solid pair of hiking boots and a dark green hooded cloak, to help him hide his face and scar in order to be able to do his business in Diagon Alley.

His aunt came into the smallest room in the house looking it over, giving her approval to the changes he made in order revert it back to what her '_Duddykins_' had, minus a few of the "_broken_" toys. The only exception was the small perch by the window, the food and water dish nearby for Hedwig and the carved wooden box on the desk near the perch.

"Leave the window open just a crack and Hedwig will fetch the letters to deliver. She has to be seen coming and going from here, even staying here," he explained. "If the box remains undisturbed, then we will be able to successfully fool them all. Please remember to feed and water her."

"I want to ask you something first," she started. "Why do you want to run away and hide from them? I thought that you were happy with the…wiz…them."

"There are many other communities of magic in the world," at the word _magic_ his aunt winced, but allowed him to continue, "for me to learn from. Also, in all honesty, I am very tired of being and feeling several steps behind everyone else at my school."

He developed a sad look on his face and continued explaining, "My godfather is gone and he wouldn't want me to brood over his loss. He wouldn't have approved of me just sitting around and waiting for the worst to fall or for everything to happen or be planned for me.

My so-called friends haven't written to me, even one time, since I got here this summer. They didn't even have the decency to reply to my letters, favourably or otherwise. They seem to be ignoring me again and I really need to know what's going on. It's my life and no one will ever tell me how to live it, ever again. I can't remain here sheltered from the events that are going to happen. I have a need, a right to know what's going on and in order to learn more I have to get out there while I still can."

She looked sad when he mentioned his loss, but remained silent and listened to what he has to say for once in her life. When he finished she nodded her understanding and walked out of the room.

Harry transformed into his kitten form and followed his aunt out of the door. Mewing softly to gain her attention, he toddled after her, trying to catch up to her long strides. She walked over, picked him up, and cuddled his kitten form a bit and thanking him for continuing to protect her family, which surprised him, and then placed him gently in her huge handbag.

She was able to successfully leave the house with him, without anyone in the Wizarding World knowing that Harry was not in his relatives' house any longer. She climbed into the cab that she had called for and had waited for her, they left for London.

Harry's aunt had planned appointments a few blocks away from the Leaky Cauldron, in London, for the day that Harry decided to "run away" on. Once there she stepped out of the cab leaving her bag on the ground, so that she could dig in her wallet to pay the cabby off.

Harry quickly clambered out of the handbag, gave a tiny goodbye "Mew" to his aunt and scampered off into the nearest alley. He ran among the back alleys, following the hidden paths that he memorized on the maps of London that he studied online, with cousin's permission.

Harry arrived near the alley closest to the Leaky Cauldron. He made sure that he was not observed, then transformed back into himself. Ensuring that the cloak's hood was up and covering what it was supposed to be covering. He made his way into the 'Cauldron' and not looking left or right he walked with purpose out the back and into Diagon Alley.

In this manner Harry Potter had effectively left the Dursleys, with absolutely no one in the Wizarding World being the wiser, including the wisest of the wise Dumbledore.

--

**TBC...**


	2. Gringotts Got Ghosts

Disclaimer, Author's Notes, & Warnings: SEE PROLOGUE

**LEGEND:**

"Normal Talk"

'_Thoughts or Emphasis_'

(...Parseltongue...)

--

Chapter One - Gringotts got Ghosts!

--

Harry needed money, lots of it, and therefore he carefully made his way to Gringotts. Luckily he knew that his accounts were not being monitored for activity and he was able to withdraw a sizable amount and convert a quite bit of it into muggle money, just in case.

His cloak with his hood up had successfully hidden his features from the public, when he noticed someone with the Malfoy colouring enter the bank. He paused and then sighed, relieved that it was only Mrs. Malfoy and not Malfoy Jr., at least the senior one was still stuck in Azkaban. A thought which made him smile.

She was elegantly dressed, walking through the bank full of inner pride and purpose. Harry watched as she walked into one of the offices located to the left, just behind a few of the tellers. Seeing Malfoy's mother brought Malfoy to the front of his mind and Harry wondered how his summer was going now that his bastard father was behind bars.

Harry made his way towards the doors of the bank, when one of the goblins prevented him from leaving. "Sir, you are requested to follow me." The goblin directed Harry to an office just next to the one that Mrs. Malfoy had entered.

Curious, Harry followed, observing the goblin's mannerisms. He seemed to walk with a stiff gate and a blank gaze. His face was a mask from which no emotion could be seen. It was then that Harry realized that this goblin might not be all that he appears to be. He kept a watchful eye on all of this small creature's movements.

"Please be seated and observe sir," the goblin said. On the wall between the two offices there was a huge painting of a raging sea, but when the goblin muttered some words at it, the sea settled and calmed to a gray-green clarity. Within the calm, Harry watched Mrs. Malfoy pace back and forth in the adjoining office.

The door opened in it and Harry saw Mrs. Weasley walk up to Mrs. Malfoy, hugging her like a long lost friend and heard her asking, "Is everything all right dear?"

His eyebrows shot up high in surprise, then turned to look at the goblin only in time to see the goblin disappear in a puff of mist. Somewhat shocked, about a ghost in Gringotts, Harry returned his attention to the goings on in the other room, shamelessly eavesdropping on the ladies' private conversation.

--

Narcissa Malfoy dropped her habitually impassive mask and openly began to tell her friend all of her concerns she had for her son.

"I'm so worried about my son," she began. "He's seems lonely in the Manor and those so called friends of his are useless. Vincent Crabbe and Gregory Goyle don't have a brain between them to challenge my son. Blaise Zabini only wants one thing from my son and so does that awful girl Pansy Parkinson. I don't know what to do anymore. The Dark Lord has been hovering in the area, but I don't want my son involved in any of his father's nonsense. Now that my husband is behind bars I'm hoping that he can escape this somehow."

"I understand dear," Molly Weasley said. "I'd take him with me or let one of my boys stay with him, but they are not very fond of your son and your home is...well, it is what it is", she grinned sheepishly at her friend and Narcissa looked back with a similar expression. "He's made it difficult for anyone to approach him. According to Hermione Granger, the young muggle girl that hangs around with my youngest son, Draco pushed all the wrong buttons in year one and has continued to do so. I believe that he might just be afraid to open up to anyone now."

Molly chuckled, thinking about the stories regarding the conflicts between Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy. "I think that there's one person who actually does stand up to your son and who refuses to take any nonsense from him. Perhaps he would be the better choice, what do you think?"

Narcissa smiled in return, "I know who you're referring to, it's young Harry Potter, right." Molly nodded her head. "I've heard my son spout the silliest reasons for not liking the poor boy. It really is a shame about him. I remember seeing him at the Quidditch World Cup. He seemed like a very polite young man."

"He is," Molly said proudly. "He's almost like one of my own and I'm very proud of that boy. Although I think that my youngest son may not the best influence for him, at least he's learning to be young again."

"What do you mean, Molly?"

"Well, I don't like to speak ill of people, but those muggles that he's been living with seem just plain awful. I don't think that they've treated him right. While I don't exactly know what they have and have not done, I do have my suspicions."

Mrs. Malfoy frowned at that, "Please continue! What else can you tell me about the boy?"

"Well, he's very helpful around the house and he helps me a lot in the mornings before my boys have a chance to wake up! It's like he doesn't know how to play. My Ron had to teach him how to play wizard's chess, gobstones and exploding snap."

Narcissa's eyes widened, "How could he not know how to play those basic wizards and children's games? Even if he was living with muggles they surely had their own children's games and I do know that they have their own version of chess. My son learned to play that game at a very young age. Maybe a bit too young..." she muttered this last to herself.

She continued frowning at how young Draco was when his father introduced him to those strategy games, but when she tried to put in her own opinion about it, Lucious told her that she was meddling in his business and to politely refrain from interfering. "How could young Harry not know about being a child or having fun like a child?"

"Well, Ron and his girlfriend Hermione have told me that Harry was responsible for almost all of the household chores, starting from a very young age. How young, I don't really know, but they likened him to a house-elf, strictly in the sense that the tasks he had to do for his relatives, were similar to that of house-elves, like the cooking and cleaning."

The shock of this statement showed on Narcissa's face. "Do you think that they could contact him for me? I think that he would be an excellent companion for Draco, for the remainder of this summer. I could even provide him with an emergency port-key out of the Manor, should any of my husband's unsavory colleagues make an appearance. Do you think your son could contact the boy on my behalf?"

Molly's face fell, "No Cissa dear. I asked Ron to send an owl to Harry inviting him to come to the Burrow for the remainder of the summer holidays and he refused. He even said that he no longer wants to have anything to do with the Boy-Who-Lived. He hasn't written or replied to any of letters that Harry sent him."

"Why?" Cissa asked with curiosity.

"I believe that he was instructed to do so by Professor Dumbledore. I could be mistaken about that though. He and his girlfriend have developed some very odd notions, regarding Harry. I no longer know what to do about the poor boy and I'm just as worried about him as I am about one of my own."

"That meddlesome old... man!" Mrs. Malfoy exclaimed. "What possible notions could they have developed against Harry Potter?"

--

Harry was listening shamelessly to this intimate conversation with a morbid sense of fascination. He snickered when he heard about Hermione being Ron's girlfriend. '_About time those two got a clue_', he thought.

Then he was outraged that Ron would listen to Dumbledore without question. It's like he didn't even want to fight that decision or maybe he just didn't even want him there. '_Odd notions_', he thought. '_What now??_'

Lost in his thoughts for a moment, he was suddenly startled out of them by the rest of the conversation that had continued on without his attention.

--

"Dark!" Cissa cried out in exclamation to her friend. It was this cry that pulled Harry's attention back to this conversation. "I don't see why they would think that about the boy. Even my own son doesn't even think that Harry could ever be anything other than a good wizard for the light."

Molly chuckled, nodding in agreement, "By the way where is your son now? Did he come here with you?"

Cissa smiled, "Yes. He's in Diagon Alley at Marseilles's TeaHouse. He used to go there whenever my husband allowed him to roam about freely. I'm glad that he has found that place. You do know that once anyone takes the mark or freely chooses to be a Dark witch or wizard in the truly evil sense, they can never see or enter that place again. If you take the Mark from any Dark Lord, it taints you so much that you will never get a second chance to visit there. Even when the Dark Lord disappeared the first time around and the Marks faded, you still couldn't see the place." She said this matter of fact, while unconsciously rubbing her left arm.

Molly eyes were saddened, knowing what that gesture meant to her friend. Harry's eyes widened, but were sad for the woman who looked like she was not a proud Malfoy, happy with her association with the Dark Lord. '_That thing has a lot to answer for_,' Harry thought, then promised himself, '_If I can, I will help her or her son out, I swear._'

"I have heard of that place before, but I don't think that I have ever seen it," she said.

"My dear friend, of course you haven't seen it. You don't even have the potential to be a Dark witch," Cissa continued explaining. "I don't think that you've ever once in your life thought about doing a '_Dark_' spell. That place is a safe haven for witches and wizards who have not committed themselves to the Light or the Dark. I'm just grateful that Draco still hasn't made or been forced to make that choice yet. I hope that when he does decide it will be in favour of his own happiness and not a matter of survival." She sighed into her tea, taking a sip.

--

Harry wondered if that was the shop that he had noticed flickering in and out of his vision from time to time. That certainly explained Ron's reactions when Harry mentioned having seen that shop after one of their excursions to Diagon Alley.

To actually be able to choose neither side in this war, without conflict, was not going to be easy for anyone. Harry wondered if he would be able to see something of that shop today. He wasn't all that surprised to know that he had that kind of potential for darkness within him. He knew that his own _Dark_ thoughts would absolutely shock his, for now, friends.

Harry would still consider them his friends, until he had a better understanding of what was going to happen during this school year.

He hadn't thought too far into his "running away" plans because he always ways a spur of the moment kind of decision-maker. Once he decided to "run away" he prepared his things to go, but his destination was unknown because he wanted to know where all the other Wizarding or magical communities could be and needed to research that in Diagon Alley first.

Most of his spur-of-the-moment decisions didn't usually lead him the wrong direction, on occasion yes. '_Especially after that one fateful time_,' his thoughts turning towards his absent godfather. But usually he feelings didn't lead him wrong.

'_So Mrs. Malfoy wants me to companion her son. I don't know if that would be an entirely bad proposition. They are rumored to have an enormous library at Malfoy Manor,_' he thought. Then he shook his head, '_Malfoy hates me and there's no way that I could just walk up to him and offer to go with him._'

Harry moved his head to re-focus on the ladies and their tea, when he noticed the tinkle of the fluttering snitch bell on his collar.

He smirked, knowing that there might be one very _Slytherin_ way to get into Malfoy's Manor and be there to companion him without Malfoy Jr. knowing that Harry Potter was even there.

A cute little black kitten with an attitude might appeal to the Slytherin Prince.

Suddenly the picture of the ocean roared back to life and the '_one way_', Harry hoped that it was a one way, portrait returned to it's sea tossing storminess.

A mist appeared on his right and Harry found himself face to face with the goblin that had brought him to this office. "You need to leave now, sir," the creature said. "Take this with you and please read it when you are completely alone." Handing a large lumpy envelope to Harry.

Harry tapped the envelope to the bell on his collar and the envelope disappeared from his hands. The goblin's undead eyes widened slightly in surprise, "Where...?"

Harry smiled, fingering the tiny fluttering snitch and answered the ghost's incomplete question. "I sent it into a place with my other belongings. To be read when I am alone, as you have asked."

The goblin ghost then gave a seemingly friendly grin and said, "I think that you can do it."

"Do what?" Harry asked.

"Save that boy," was the only reply.

--

**TBC...**


	3. Draco, the Kitten and

Disclaimer, Author's Notes, & Warnings: SEE PROLOGUE

**LEGEND:**

"Normal Talk"

'_Thoughts or Emphasis_'

(...Parseltongue...)

--

Chapter Two - Draco, the kitten and gorilla paws, Oh my!

--

The goblin ghost then gave a friendly grin and said, "I think that you can do it."

"Do what?" Harry asked.

"Save that boy," was the only reply. "Best put up your hood, sir."

Harry put up his hood, covering his distinctive hair and more importantly his blasted curse scar.

He followed the goblin ghost to the doors of the bank. Harry heard quietly, "Save that boy, please!" He looked around he didn't see his goblin "guide" anywhere and somehow knew that he wouldn't, ever again.

Harry walked out of the grand doors of the bank into the bright day. He headed for Floorish & Blott's and there he picked up all kinds of books that he thought would be appropriate to study for his sixth year. He also picked up some for his coming and hopefully final "tussle" with 'ole Voldie... and many others that caught his eye.

The others were like, "Home Improvement for the Average 'Joe' Wizard" and "Expand It, Secure It, or Start Over" another for home improvement or "Magical Gardens: Not Just for Decorating" and his new favorite "Roaming Magical Creatures: Identifying and Fertilizing Possibilities".

It told him how to recognize the migratory magical creatures and whether the "ah-hem" leavings were useful or deadly, but this particular book also included possibilities for what to do with the feather, fur and any other possible leavings, like antlers or snake skins. Potential potion use being one of the examples given.

Then he entered the stationer's side of the store and purchased tons of scrapable paper and scrolls, regular paper and regular scrolls for school. There were industrial lots of paper and lots of ink in various different colours, quills, blank notebooks and journals... actually quite a lot of stuff, almost enough to become his own bindery.

All of these purchases had a purpose, although it looked he was buying enough for more than one person, but he wasn't sure about what purpose just yet. '_Another one of those feelings,_' he thought. The clerks of the store had shrunk all of his purchases for him, at his request.

Harry tucked into a narrow alley way, he looked around to make sure that no one was observing his actions, then he touched the shrunken bags to the bell on his collar, safely storing them in his trunk for later.

Harry then chanced to see Malfoy come out of the building that he had seen a few times flickering in and out of sight. "Marseilles's TeaHouse."

Complete understanding dawned on him as he re-called Mrs. Malfoy's words '_only those with the potential to be Dark_' could see it. He had long since acknowledged the fact that he could be Dark, but knowing that Malfoy had the potential to _not_ be was something of a shock to truly realize.

Harry took his time to observe Malfoy making his rounds about the shops, when he finally decided that he was ready to leave, he saw the Slytherin settle at an outdoor table at Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlor. When the order came Harry was shocked that it was a simple chocolate banana split with plain vanilla ice cream and fresh strawberries floating in the syrup.

Cats tended to like their cream in any form. Harry was no different and was almost drooling for some of that cold vanilla cream. Quickly looking around, knowing that he had a small window of opportunity, he morphed into his kitten form.

He was running and toddling towards the table, hopefully unobserved, when suddenly he was picked up by the scruff of his neck.

"What you got there?" Crabbe asked.

To Harry's dismay he was in of the gorilla paws belonging to Goyle. "A kitten, with a very pretty collar," Goyle said. "Looks a little too big for him, I think I know a place that will want it for a few galleons." He was trying to remove it because of the stones on it. He believed that they would be of value.

Harry was having none of it. He was hissing, spitting, mewing and his claws were out, but useless, he wanted to aim for Goyle's fat nose. "Looks like you'll have to remove the head in order to get it off," Crabbe said grinning evilly, while he was watching Goyle's futile attempts. '_Great beheaded by a behemoth,_' Harry thought. '_I just dare him to try that..._'

"What do you have there, Goyle?" Draco drawled, bored with the day so far. Watching Goyle's antics were kind of interesting for a bit until he heard the plaintive cries from the creature in Goyle's gorilla hands.

Goyle tried to hide the hissing kitten, but then the kitten mewled in pain and distress. "Hand it over," Draco said. He knew that any small creature caught by Goyle wouldn't have a chance. Goyle tried to avoid his Slytherin leader, but then Draco said, "Don't make me ask you again?"

Those were same words Goyle's father used before going off on him. Malfoy knew this and sometimes used it his advantage. His two "friends" have done the same when they occasionally remembered the trigger phrase, it was the somewhat usual one of, '_I'm gonna tell my ma who'll let yur pa,_' that never boded well if and when Lucious decided to get involved.

Now, thanks to Potter, that line has absolutely no effect on him and he was also able to step away, to pause and think about other possibilities for his future. If he didn't watch it, he wouldn't have one.

His attention was focused back to Goyle and his captive. Goyle brought forward the kitten by its scruff. The poor little thing was dangling, its legs were rigidly straight, baring its teeth and mewling pitifully.

"Hand it over," Malfoy, said, noticing the collar that had grabbed the brute's attention. "His owner is probably worried about his lost pet."

"But the collar..." Goyle began.

Malfoy just shook his head, "Would obviously have a trace on it and the wizard who owns this little one would probably be very upset." Then Draco reached for the kitten with his long graceful fingers and took the little kitten gently from the large Slytherin's hurtful grip.

He was petting it and calming it down, as two other Slytherins made their appearance, Blaise and Pansy. "Again!" Blaise said with boredom in his voice. "You can't possibly be thinking of saving another one."

These words caught Harry's attention, '_Maybe there's more to this guy than I thought. If there's more to me..._' Harry frowned, which did not show in his current form, wondering '_What..."meoo"_ (he vocalized)_ are they talking about?_'

"I'm not exactly saving it, I just don't want the owner to come looking for it and find that I was involved by association. Obviously the little guy belongs to a witch or wizard and it's obviously someone with money," Draco said. "I don't want to be on the receiving end of any more spells for a long while. It already took a week and some to get rid of those curses that I got at the end of the year. Now if you don't mind I have ice cream that's melting and I hate melted ice cream." He said returning back to his table and melting ice cream, still cuddling and petting the kitten.

Malfoy set him down on top of the table, where Harry promptly sat down, a bit bewildered. Crabbe and Goyle disgruntled, ambled off to meet their parents, while Blaise and Pansy sat down with Draco and the kitten.

"You can't keep trying to save creatures from those two," Blaise said.

"How do you know that this kitten's owner is a witch or wizard and not to some Mudblood?" Pansy asked with disdain and drawling the word Mudblood.

"Why not?" Draco continued to sound bored. "If I want to save this kitten or any other creature I will. I know it belongs to someone from the wizarding world because Goyle couldn't easily remove the collar. Obviously magic was used on it in order to maintain its place on this little guy." Draco said this watching the kitten's tail twitching, back and forth, which still didn't seem too happy at having been caught by one of his former goons.

Harry was listening to the conversation with only half an ear; he was waiting for his chance at the ice cream in the bowl. '_There_', he thought, as Draco put down his spoon and was continuing his talk with his "_friends_". Harry toddled, stealthily, to the bowl, which is, thankfully, a shallow boat-like thing that is usually used for banana splits.

He crept up to it keeping an eye out for the people around the table he leaned in and began to lap up the melted vanilla flavour around the rim of the bowl. He was reluctant to dive in not just because the ice cream was cold, but because it would also stick to his fur, which would force him to clean that up in kitten-cat style, that always resulted in hairballs. '_Can you say eww gross?_'

The conversation continued to flow around him.

"You really should stop trying to help every helpless creature caught by someone else," Blaise began. "Remember what your father did to that goblin, who he thought was cheating him?"

"Do you enjoy bringing up that unpleasant reminder of my past, Blaise? Mind your own business." Draco was livid, but not showing any emotion, that Blaise would bring that up in public was starting to piss him off.

"So what, it should have served you as a lesson. Still here you are and you're just too gorgeous to die young." He said trying to lighten the mood, hopefully to get his way. "Are you sure you don't want my company for the rest of summer? I am sure that your father would have approved." Blaise said.

"I do not want nor do I need your company or the company of anyone else for that matter." He stated glaring at Pansy, disengaging her arm that she had decided to tangle around his.

Harry's ears twitched at the word goblin, but he was too engrossed in finishing up the remaining ice cream from the bottom of the dish, cleaning the bowl with his rough tongue.

"Draco," she started to whine. "Why are you acting like this? You know that once your father is released that he will betroth the two of us. I can make sure that our future home life is very pleasant or very unpleasant."

"If it turns out to be unpleasant, you could always seek me out, you know you'd always be welcome in my bed anytime," Blaise butted in his own two knuts.

'_Yuck,_' was Harry's only thought about those offers. '_He doesn't seem to have any real friends. Wonderful choices he's got there!_' He thought sarcastically.

Draco wanting to put an end to the conversation he picked up his spoon to re-focus on his remaining ice cream, only to find a smug looking kitten sitting on his hind paws idly licking the back of one of his fore paws and an empty bowl.

He kept watching this small audacious kitten, in shock. The kitten, having just eaten its fill and finished his cleaning up, jumped down into Draco's lap, paced in a circle for a bit and then curled up into a tiny black ball, heaved a yawn and fell into a contended purring nap.

Harry wanted to hear more of this conversation, but all that cream was so yummy and filling that it had caused a bit of drowsiness in the teen turn kitten.

The corner of Draco's mouth twitched, as he put the spoon down and once again was stuck listening to the prospective vacation plans that his two other "friends" were hoping to engage him in. He was idly petting the kitten who twitched, a bit startled at the first touch, but had calmed down under the soothing strokes on his fur. The kitten stretched out and just hung from his position purring, completely relaxed.

Draco stopped petting it temporarily to pay the bill, when he felt Pansy's hand slide up his thigh. "Pansy I would advise you to not go any further," he warned.

"Drackie-kins you never objected before," she said with her hand continuing its movements. Draco never objected because he was always under the close scrutiny of his father, but he'll be damned if he will put up with this nonsense now and in public.

"I'm warning you," he stated simply.

She continued to pay him no mind, fully aware that his hands were occupied at the moment. However, she seemed to have forgotten a certain contented kitten lying there that did not wish to be disturbed.

Harry was aware of the words and was foggily trying to figure out what was going now, when suddenly a hand with claws was squeezing him. Not caring and being the cat that he was he rolled over quickly and latched onto that offending limb with all four paws and claws digging into the flesh that he clamped onto, including his with nasty little and very sharp teeth.

Pansy shrieked and withdrew her hand so fast that everyone around was shocked that such a clean-cut proper young lady could cause such a ruckus. She was waving her hand back and forth, trying vainly to dislodge the vindictive little kitten.

Finally Harry had had enough and leaving behind some very nasty looking scratches and bite marks, he detached himself, jumped away and landed on the table, hissing and paws with claws out swiping at the hand that was reaching for him once more.

Blaise was laughing out loud, while Draco was chuckling and grinning like a madman. The kitten had a disgusted look on its face, as though it had taken a bite of something vile. The kitten then stalked off with his tail twitching back and forth, growling and keeping a wary eye on the girl.

Pansy had just picked up a butter knife and was about to launch herself into attacking the little creature, when her own mother saw her. Screeching at the girl, Pansy deflated quickly, dropping the knife and was whisked away by her mother. "Just you wait til I get you home young lady, is that how you were brought up to behave in public? What would..." the rant continued until they were long gone.

"Looks like you have found yourself a protector, my son," Mrs. Malfoy said with a smile, sitting down with them.

"I need to find his owner. I guess you could say that this kitten just returned the favour." He explained to her about saving the kitten from Crabbe and Goyle, while Blaise was there chuckling and adding his unwanted two Knuts worth. Eventually Blaise left leaving Malfoy, his mother and the kitten, taking a spot of tea.

"I'm proud of you my son. Have you looked at the identification tags to find out where to take him? I'm sure that his owner will be getting pretty anxious," she said.

Draco shook his head and then lifted the cat looking into its piercing and blinking green eyes. "Merlin," he whispered. The eyes were something else and the colour reminded him of... of... he couldn't place it yet, but eventually he would find out. Looking at the fluttering bell snitch, he smiled gently to himself and then had a good look at the I.D. Tags. Reading them out loud to his mother.

**Name: ** I haven't decided yet.

**Address:** None of your business, snoopy.

**Inoculations:** Of course, stupid.

Draco laughed and showed his mother. His mother was curious and took hold of the kitten. This kitten is a strange one, she thought. Taking a closer look at the tags herself, she didn't read the same things that her son saw, but knew well enough to remain silent at what she did see.

**Name:** Harry Potter

**Address:** Malfoy Manor, with my Lady's permission.

**Reasons:** I would like to accept your gracious invitation for the remainder of summer in order to companion your son, as per your request to Mrs. Weasley.

He gazed steadily into her eyes and she smiled when the tags began to change back to what her son had read out loud. She continued looking thoughtfully at the smug little kitten that stuck out its tongue and licked his own nose.

'_Fancy way of thumbing his nose at the restrictions others had placed on him. I see that there is more to him than anyone else knows about._' Giving the kitten a small nod, at once information on the tag was back to what is was with the exception of the address which was now Malfoy Manor.

She handed the kitten back to Draco, telling him to come along and to bring his champion with him. He was surprised and started, "But mother what about the..."

"Look again," she simply said.

Draco looked again. This time it said:

**Name:** You had better think up a good one.

**Address:** Malfoy Manor

**Inoculations:** I've already had my shots, so don't even think about it.

Draco looked stunned at the kitten, but then cradled it to his chest. "I'll try to think up of a good name for you, my tiny hero." He chuckled following his mother in order to floo home.

--

**TBC...**


	4. Malfoy's Manor

Disclaimer, Author's Notes, & Warnings: SEE PROLOGUE

**LEGEND:**

"Normal Talk"

'_Thoughts or Emphasis_'

(...Parseltongue...)

--

Chapter Three - Malfoy's Manor

--

Harry was settling in quite nicely at Malfoy Manor. He was able to, with the help of Mrs. Malfoy, determine the areas that were safe for him to be himself for a couple of hours, enabling him to have access to the Malfoy's vast library. Surprisingly the safest places for him to transform into Harry Potter and converse with the lady of the house were the wardrobes and closets. Harry laughed at that irony and yet it was useful for him in order to be able to re-vamp his summer homework, with more access to wizarding texts for research he was sure to pass with higher marks.

Professor Snape was going to be for in a shock about that one.

Draco had given his kitten form a name, but he had to argue with him about it first. Harry was sitting on Draco's desk waiting. "How about Soot?" "Smudge?" "Coal?" "Blackie?" He had asked the kitten who just narrowed his eyes at every name and looked away. Clearly he was not happy with the names. Draco took the chance to look at the name part of the Tag and saw, _Couldn't you come up with something more original than those Drackie?_

Draco flinched and then frowned when he read that. Then he laughed. "How about Noiro (pronounced: nu-arr-rro), it is the same thing as Blackie, but it's in French. What do you think?" The kitten tilted his head to one side, thinking about it and then mewed his consent. He liked the way the R was pronounced because it was like listening to Draco purr.

Now the name on the tag read: _**Noiro**_. They were together for the most part of everyday, except for the afternoons when Malfoy left him behind to go outside onto the Manor's grounds. Doing what? Harry didn't know and he was curious about it, however there were a few other things on his mind to occupy his time for now.

He was also able to find out about that issue with the goblin that Malfoy Sr. had. It turns out that the reason that the goblin was accused of stealing was because Mrs. Malfoy had requested a large sum of money to be withdrawn without her husband's permission in order to be able to purchase an obscure little bit of property in France. The goblin was going to be her secret keeper for the land and house.

It was about a week after they had been at the Manor when Harry was finally able to read the letter that the goblin had given him. He was in Mrs. Malfoy's closet, hiding from some of the house-elves who wanted to shoo him out of there because they knew that he was an animagus and one that should not be in their home, but Mrs. Malfoy told them to leave the kitten alone.

It was not always going to be the case. She knew that her husband and his cronies were planning a grand escape from Azkaban. She was hoping that a solution would come up soon for her son.

So, when Harry explained how he knew that she wanted him for a companion for her son, she allowed him the chance to read the goblin's letter in peace.

Harry was sitting at the back of '_call me_' Narcissa's wardrobe with a glass ball that had been spelled with Lumos to light the pages of the letter. The lumpy package contained several things; the first thing it contained the deed to a plot of land and house that Mrs. Malfoy had wanted purchased in the name of her son, the second thing it held was all the keys to the place. The third item was the land address and a spell to enable someone to perform a self induced Fidilius charm. Finally, it held an extra key to a vault in Gringotts for Draco, accessible only in the case of an emergency, which was defined as his father's release, by any manner, from prison.

The letter read as follows:

--

_My dear sir,_

_I know not who you are, but I know that you are one of the ones that exist who can allow me the chance to finally to fulfill my former obligations to Lady Malfoy. Despite the evil her husband has done to me, I in no way hold any grudge, against the Lady. She has always been fair and generous. Her son follows her in that respect._

_That wonderful boy has tried to ease my suffering, by providing healing potions and food, when I was in the dungeons of his father's Manor. His father had me confined there for a very long time and attempted to extract information from me by various means. _

_Goblins __**are**__, for the most part, very honourable creatures. Above that, we each develop our own code of honour throughout our lives. Mine was that once I gave my word to do something I would see it through to whatever ends may come. I don't recommend it for everyone, seeing as I have passed on... you are permitted to laugh at this I know that I did._

_Contained in this envelope is the deed in Mr. Draco Malfoy's name, obtained as requested by his mother. Also, contained within is the spell that I was to read once the deed was in his name, that way there was added insurance for the boy to be able to escape to a safe and secure location, away from his father's house should the need arise. I was to have been the secret keeper._

_There are other reasons that his father did kill me for, but the main reason was his suspicions that I stole money from his vaults. The truth is that I did this dishonourable deed and stole the money from his vaults. I know that was not an honourable act, but the man is evil and hateful, serving a foul creature._

_I have no regrets with the actions that I took. I opened a secure account in the name of the boy on my own. His mother doesn't even know that I have done this, but the amount was substantial enough to be detected. It's to help the boy maintain that house and land, but it also contains more than enough to enable him to continue on with his education unhindered. _

_My associates do not even know that I have done this, but now that it has been done it can not be undone by any means, whatsoever. I have locked the forms under a secrecy contract spell that I've hidden in the vault belonging to Mr. Harry Potter. I hope that he will not think too ill of me for doing this, but his vault was the most trusted one that I could think of, as he is the Boy-Who-Lived. _

_Access to this account is spelled to recognize the precise time when Lord Lucius Malfoy leaves Azkaban, whether he is released or escapes. The key will glow, so please keep an eye on it, as it will provide a small time margin to give a chance for the boy to escape._

_I do not know what will happen to him, but the truth is that I have seen him enter Marseilles's and I knew that this strange wonderful person had the potential to avoid his father's fate. I knew in my heart that I had to save a least one person from the fate of following the Dark Lord._

_The house has been updated and modernized to a certain extent, but it remains unfurnished. The flooring and internal painting was done in generic colours, in order to allow for the wizard to change it at will. _

_The wards that have been added on this house are similar to the ones on his old home, including one that allows young Mr. Malfoy to use his wand undetected by the ministry. I arranged it this way because I know that he may eventually have need of it._

_I would ask you kind sir, to take my place as the secret keeper of that house and help the boy. His heart is different from his father's and I believe in it. You are equally free to do as you choose, but it is my hope that you will accept this and help him._

_I am hoping that I have not erred in my choice, but there was something about you or perhaps it was your aura sir that compelled me to seek you out specifically and request your assistance in this matter._

_Thank you! You're allowing me this chance to make things right._

_With sincere regards,_

_**Ghorash Ghipstone**_

_Ex-Manager of Personal Accounts_

_Gringotts Bank for Wizard's, Diagon Alley Branch_

_Post Mortem Date, July 13, 19--_

--

Harry smiled at the thought of pulling another one over Lucius Malfoy. To become the secret keeper and hide his son away from him had a strangely satisfying quality and a weird quirky sense of appeal. The address was on the deed, but Harry knew that he would have to go there first to see the place and make sure that nothing had penetrated the wards. Also, he knew that he had to consult with Narcissa on this.

"Narcissa," he whispered. Not a minute later the Lady of the House came into her wardrobe, closing the door behind her. She settled herself down and sat primly down on the floor next to Harry.

"Yes? Did you finish reading it?" She asked. Harry nodded and showed her the deed of the house. "He actually did it. Thank all the heavens."

"It's not furnished, but there are wards around the house. So the location should still be secure." Harry explained and then he told her about the extra account that had been opened in her son's name. She was never able to do that for her son, but a goblin from Gringotts had and died because of it. "He didn't regret his actions or choices, Narcissa. It seems that this creature had hopes for your son when he saw him enter Marseilles's."

Narcissa breathed a sigh of relief. Then she paused reflecting for a bit, "Noiro," she started, they had agreed earlier on that he would only answer to that name while he was in Malfoy Manor or on its grounds. There was less chance for him to be found out.

"Seeing as that house is unfurnished do you think that there is a way for you to go see it? See what the rooms look like and get a copy of the plans or sketch the layout. We have a lot of furniture in some of the unused rooms here that could help. I will not offer any of the portraits from this house, but I think that there are a few that have been placed in storage that will be good for Draco to have. I would also like for you to consider being the secret keeper. No one would ever think to look at you for that."

"Well, first I would have to see how far away that house is, before I can do anything about it, but you can some of the furniture ready. I am sure that the basics, like a couch, dining room set and beds of various sizes could be brought with me the first time around. Since the wards include no wand detection I will probably be able to place them around the house. What do you think?"

"I think that I will ask my son, if there are any furnishings that he is particularly fond of and endeavor to get rid of them," she said with a calculating smile. "You see, I seem to have a bad habit throwing away the things that he loved by his father's decree, but little does he know that I have everything that he has ever lost, and they are in a safer location at the moment. Perhaps you could take them with you, but how would you carry them all?"

"If you have them shrunk, I can carry them and I will take that time to consider being the secret keeper." He said enigmatically, as he did not show her the spell that was part of the letter. He looked at the address for the house. It was in a mapped location with latitude and longitude. Luckily he knew how to navigate in that manner having studied the mapping of oceans on navigator charts last week. It was fascinating the oddball information that he could find in the Manor's library.

He folded the letter and stuffed the envelope once more with all of its contents. Narcissa watched as he touched the full envelope to the bell of his collar and saw that it disappeared. Her eyes were wide, "Where...?"

"My school trunk," he said fingering the bell. "I have to carry everything with me." He paused, looking over some of the clothing that was hanging in her wardrobe. "I have a couple of conditions before I agree to do anything."

"What is it?" She asked, curious about what he could possibly request.

"Could you take a one week or two week holiday somewhere with your son and bring me along, as Harry? I would like to visit some other place because I have never been able to see new places. Maybe another Wizarding community?" He asked hopefully.

She thought about that for while. They usually planned to travel in the summers to go to the coast in France and sometimes they traveled to Italy, this year they hadn't planned to travel, but perhaps a week or two somewhere else was a good idea. Somewhere that her young dragon always wanted to go, unfortunately at this time of year it was off season, but then it was more fun because there would be less people around. "What's your other condition?"

He blushed in embarrassment, but had to ask, "Could you help me find better clothing and ones that fit?"

Narcissa looked at him closely for the first time and laughed. "I sorry Noiro, but I never thought that that would be your request."

He smiled at her sheepishly, but explained that when he was living with his relatives that he never had the opportunity to shop for the things that he needed. He couldn't show up one day wearing new clothes, new glasses or anything of the like after his school year was finished as his relatives would then demand to know where the money came from and more than likely demand the money for themselves.

Narcissa was saddened upon hearing that, but agreed. "I'll see what I can do. What about the furniture?"

"Get it ready and I will be able to bring them with me tomorrow, when Draco goes out on the grounds in the afternoon. It shouldn't take that long to set everything up. I think that I will do that tomorrow afternoon, rest the next day and then take the rest of the furnishings with me on the following day. That way it is more than partially ready in case of an emergency. Could you have some emergency medical supplies and potions ready for the house at the same time?"

She looked at him and said, "Actually, I have something that will be of use to you. You know about the items that I had to '_throw away_', well there's something else too. I have always wanted to supply my future son or daughter-in-law with a Hope Chest. I have been filling it with items like you've mentioned ever since my son started Hogwarts. It's filled with things like linens, towels, plates, cutlery and such... I think that if I were to make sure that there are no Dark elements in it or tracing spells on any of the items you could take that with you too!"

Harry nodded his agreement. They heard someone calling for "Noiro" echoing in the hallway, so he handed the glass Lumos ball to Narcissa and morphed into his kitten form. Mewing, with a nod to Narcissa, he ran out of her closet and into the hallway seeking the owner of the voice.

"There you are my silly kitty," Draco said relieved. "Were you visiting mother?" Harry just mewed while batting the wiggling fingers that drew his kitten like attention.

"He was sleeping in my closet, son," she said in the doorway. "It is strange that he's comfortable in confined spaces."

"I think it's because he knows the dimensions of the smaller spaces and it's easier to control any given situation, should anything bad happen. I'm just guessing, of course," he said. "I'm going to my room to study."

"Very well my son, I will see you at dinner." She said, watching him stride away. Then she called forth a couple of her most trustworthy elves, they helped prepare the furniture and hope chest for shrinking and travel.

Once everything was completed she cast the detection spells and shrank them. She then placed the shrunken furniture into the hope chest and shrank the chest. She carried the chest with her for the rest of the day, until it was time to retire for the evening.

A tiny scratch was at her door at the end of the day, opening it she saw Noiro bound into her room. He ran to her closest and morphed into himself. She walked into the closet and saw the transformation. "I only have a moment, Draco's in the bath," Harry said. "Do you have it?"

Smiling she handed him the small chest. He took into his hands and then touched it to the fluttering snitch bell on his collar.

"One question Noiro," she asked. "How are you going to get there?"

He gave her a friendly yet very sly smile and just said, "Now, now. I can't be giving away all of my secrets, can I?" He morphed into his kitten form once again, dashing between her legs and ran out the door, as she let out a startled sound followed by true laughter.

He ran back to the room he shared with Draco, hopping onto the bed he waited for him to come out of his bathroom. This was his favorite part of the day because Draco was so comfortable in his own skin that he walked about his room in the nude air-drying most of the time.

Harry never once stopped to wonder why he wanted to watch, but it was something about the light of the setting sun colouring that pale skin that had him fascinated. He was always riveted by it and there were times when Draco would pick him up and let him rest on his stomach while he remained undressed.

It was times like these that Harry really listened to everything that Draco talked about. Draco had a strange habit of talking to the black kitten and eventually Harry learned some things that he never knew about Draco.

The most startling of all was the fact that Draco truly regretted his comments to the hippogryph, Buckbeak, back in third year and that he was forever grateful when he heard that that beautiful creature was able to escape. He was of course very curious about how the creature got away and Harry promised himself that this was one story he would one-day share with the Slytherin.

Finally when Draco was dry enough, he would lay down and go to sleep. Harry would lay curled up on his own pillow next the blonde head and watch him sleep for a time before he would fall asleep purring contentedly.

--

**TBC... **


	5. Draco's Own Secrets

Disclaimer, Author's Notes, & Warnings: SEE PROLOGUE

**LEGEND:**

"Normal Talk"

'_Thoughts or Emphasis_'

(...Parseltongue...)

--

Chapter Four - Draco's Own Secrets

--

Harry would lay curled up on his own pillow next the blonde head and watch him sleep for a time before he could fall asleep purring contentedly.

Harry still had dreams and he still had visions. It was easier to wake up from them. Now when these occurred, he would get up and hide away in one of Draco's closets. He would morph back into his human form because it was easier to calm down from those visions by stretching with a bit of Tai-Chi exercises and meditation in there. He set up the snitch bell to ring at a specific hour in the morning, just in case he ever fell asleep there and in his human form, so that he could morph back into his kitten form in time.

It hasn't happened yet, but he wanted to be prepared. Still being able to wake up facing the Slytherin was one of his other most favorite things. The morning was the time of day that his kitten qualities kicked in and he woke the blonde up with varying methods. He either played with the platinum hair or batted at his face with his tiny paws (claws in of course), he would stick his nose in the closest ear and purr really loud or he would wiggle his whiskers all over the face or neck tickling the sleeping dragon.

Draco was never upset about it and quite frankly he enjoyed all the loving attention that he received from the cute little fuzz ball. It didn't happen too often, but it happened enough times that he knew that he would have a good day when he was awakened in that manner.

Some days when he woke up he was so excited and others he was just plain happy that things were going so well. He was able to finish his studies for Hogwarts and now was continuing his alternate course studies of the flora and fauna around his home.

Nobody knew about his true interests, not even his own godfather, and nobody could ever possibly understand his avid interest with the creatures of their magical world, none except perhaps Hagrid, but then again the half-giant was always interested in the more dangerous ones rather than all of them.

Hagrid's comments, of the genre '_Isn't he beautiful?_' and '_Aren't they wonderful?_' during the Care of Magical Creatures classes, were often echoed in Draco's mind, but never showed it in his clever Slytherin mask of disdain. Most of his companions like Blaise and Pansy thought that he had a weakness for saving the small and helpless creatures.

That wasn't entirely true, he wanted to see them and study them in depth, but he never wanted to see them hurt, especially at the hands of the two biggest goons in the school. He wanted to learn more about them and he wanted to become either a veterinarian for magical creatures or a teacher of CoMC.

So he took additional studies by correspondence. With the aide of his mother, she was able to enroll him into a program that allowed for additional outside learning and had set up a method for additional "_potions studies_" with Professor Snape, without anyone from Hogwarts or his father knowing.

His godfather allowed himself to be used as an excuse, but was too busy to inquire about the additional courses. He only knew that the additional studies were not in potions. Oh, there were times that Draco wanted to know about potions, but their uses were specific and similar to a healer's requirements. So he only had an inkling as to what the courses may be, but he kept his mind clear of such thoughts in order to better protect his Godson. So, he set up a small class beside his own in order for Draco to study from, which prevented him from interfering with the detentions that he gave to other students.

It was intoxicating being able to get around the system and his father, but Draco wished that he could have had one person with which to talk to about this. A real friend. His thoughts sometimes turned toward the black haired, green-eyed boy that he met in Madam Malkins shop, not the one he met on the train.

His father had shown him early on how to gauge someone's character and Draco knew that the boy he saw would not suite to being sorted into Slytherin, but he was also very aware from the clothing that the boy wore that he didn't know anything about wizards. Should this boy be sorted into Slytherin he would have either been trampled by them or possibly could have become the next Dark Lord.

His father had proudly shared some of the true history concerning his own Dark Lord and Master, the part about being abandoned and a helpless orphen that grew to greatness, but Draco had taken that information and converted it to the boy standing next to him.

So on that fateful first day, on the train, after seeing that the Harry Potter, that the Boy-Who-Lived, was the same raggle-taggle urchin he saw at the tailors, he knew. He knew that he had to prevent Harry from ever being considered Slytherin material. So he acted on purpose to push him into the Weasel's friendship and hoped that time would give him the chance to explain.

--

Now, one afternoon about a week after coming home with the cutest little black kitten, he was exploring the woodland grounds of his famous ancestral home when he saw the most beautiful creature that he had ever seen walk by him. It was walking along the border of his father's estate, when it suddenly spread its wings and flew away.

A couple of drops of water on his face startled him out of his daze. He was surprise to realize that it was his own tears falling from his eyes at such a sight. _To be able to fly like that or with that magnificent creature…_' he sighed. '_To actually see one... I wish you could see this Hagrid. I know you'd say 'Isn't he beautiful?'... Yes, he is, but the behaviour..._'

The behaviour of that creature caused Draco some worry. '_That's not the normal pattern for a gryphon... I wonder if it has incorporated its territory with that of the Manor's grounds. I think it's time for me to study a new creature..._' Grinning, he began to explore the area where the creature had made its appearance and disappearance.

Walking about the area he searched for anything that might contain a clue on this creature. He returned to the house a little upset to find nothing. He headed to the library to look up anything and everything that he could find on gryphons.

--

It was about another week and a bit into his research. He had been able to observe the gryphon coming and going from the Manor's property a few times. If he wasn't mistaken about anything, that gryphon was more than it seemed. Since it didn't attack and it disappeared often, Draco couldn't quite place the pattern of its movements.

However, the times it appeared seemed to fall into a pattern. Whenever Draco was in the forest he was sure to catch a glimpse. He sighed, walking around he tried once again to try and find it. He was beginning to wonder if he should inform the ministry about this creature, in order to have it removed from the property to be taken to a preservation compound or perhaps just let it be...

A sudden fluttering of wings caused him to stand still, unmoving and unthreatening. Gryphons were close cousins to hippogryphs and therefore if it sensed that you weren't a threat you might have a chance to either approach it or walk away unscathed.

The gryphon landed close by and swiveling its head, sensing a presence, was about to fly away again. Of course, Harry being Harry, he was curious to see Draco's reaction to a gryphon, but he also knew that his collar would be a dead giveaway, as it expanded to fit his every form. He knew that he couldn't stay there too long.

Still he looked in Draco's direction he found those amazing silver eyes and locked them to his. Thank goodness his eyes in this form weren't green, but his pupils were the darkest green and that they were dark enough to fool anyone from a distance.

Draco's eyes were locked to those of that wonderful creature and remaining that way he bent his body at the waist in a formal bow of respect. Harry was shocked and his form was pleased, so was he. He let out a soft cry and bowed his head in a manner of returned respect, always maintaining eye contact.

He let out another small cry as he folded his wings, turned away from Draco and ran into the underbrush. He was heading for a small hill in the distance, changing direction once he was clearly out of Malfoy's sight, he headed back to the Manor at top speed and then morphed back to his kitten form before appearing out in the open. The kitten emerged from the woods and from there he ran and jumped into a waiting lap.

Draco had never been happier then right now, at this moment. '_That beautiful creature bowed back. Maybe it will allow me to approach it next time..._' he thought. Something on the ground caught his eye. Walking towards it he saw that it was one of the gryphon's feathers, one of its primaries. Looking around the ground again he saw a few others. '_Was it in a fight?_'

Shaking his head, he didn't think so. So he wandered slowly back to his home and decided to review the books in his room one more time.

As he walked into the Manor garden area he found that his mother was waiting for him. "How was your stroll my son?"

"It was fine mother," he replied. "Is there something you wish to discuss with me?"

"Yes, but I believe that it can wait until it's time for dinner," she said. She was sitting outside, on one of the deck chairs with Noiro in her lap, petting his head.

"I have a few things to look up in my room, I'll see you then." He turned to look at Noiro and said, "Are you coming or not?"

Noiro looked at him, blinked and turned away purring, as Mrs. Malfoy continued to pet his head. Draco threw a strange look at the kitten and just mumbled, "Traitor" on his way back to his room.

Narcissa laughed at her son's expression. "If I am not mistaken, I think that my son was a bit jealous just now, Noiro."

Noiro mewed in seeming agreement. "All the arrangements have been made for our holidays," she whispered, knowing that the boy was listening. "I will tell my son at dinner. Do you want to be there?"

Noiro just shook his head exaggeratedly, no. He was sure to hear about it from Draco later that night as he got ready for bed.

"I have to go see about dinner now," she said. "Why don't you run along?"

Noiro jumped off of her lap and ran into the Manor, chasing invisible shadows. He finally wandered up to Draco's suite of rooms, only to stop and see him gently fingering a couple of feathers. Tilting his head, trying to figure out where he'd seen them before. He mewed, walking further into the room.

Draco looked to the kitten and smiled. Harry was so shocked at the radiance of the smile that he sat down hard on the ground. "Look what I found Noiro," he said excitedly, holding up the feathers. "They belong to a gryphon that I have seen from time to time on our grounds."

Noiro walked up to him and then jumped up on his lap, then onto the desk for a closer look. Sure enough, on the desk were books of animals. There were quite a few feathers and scales from different animals that Draco was learning about. "Watch this," Draco said.

He opened one of his books and took one of the gryphon feathers, placed it on the blank open page. The feather was sucked into the book and then the page of the book was updated.

_**Gryphon's Feather:**_ _Found on the grounds of Malfoy Manor, the date of appearance July 26, 19--. Colouration is unusual for the species, however it is not unknown. It may be the cause of ostracism for this particular creature... __Evidence non-conclusive... __Frequent haunts observed near the grounds of Malfoy Manor. Suspected location of lair, somewhere outside of the Manor's grounds and borders... More to be determined at a later date._

Harry was surprised at this book. It was a catalogue of almost every creature that Draco was studying on the Manor grounds and the Hidden Forest from their school. He wondered if Draco had studied some of the creatures from the Forbidden Forest, but his thoughts were cut off when one of Narcissa's house-elves appeared.

"Sir, lady waits on you for dinner, sir," Pikki said before popping back out of the room. This little house-elf was one of the strange ones. It was one of the few that Narcissa trusted implicitly and it was also one of the few that did not try to chase Harry away from the Manor.

"Well, I guess I'll leave you alone, but don't touch any of these books," Draco said to Noiro. He picked up the kitten gently and set him down on the ground. "Here you can play with this one." He set down one of the broken feathers and then charmed it to swivel and swoosh about the room.

Harry's kitten play instincts came up and he began to stalk and chase the multi-coloured feather that was ironically really one of his own. The irony was not lost on him and he mewed, happily playing with this new toy.

Draco walked out of the room, down the hall and headed to one of the smaller dining rooms to have dinner with his mother. There they talked of general things, his studies, her friends, his supposed friends etc... It was all idle chitchat over nothing really important. These walls really had ears. As they were nearing the end of the meal, the conversation turned out to be quite interesting, in Draco's opinion.

"How are you enjoying your summer so far?"

"It's all right mother."

"I have some wonderful news," she began. He raised one eyebrow in question. "We are going to take a two week holiday and you will be companioned by someone from your school."

"Really, who is it?"

"That will be a surprise. We will be meeting Severus and the student at the hotel where we will be staying. You will have to share the room with him, but the rooms are doubles, so that shouldn't be a problem with you. Is it?" He was shaking his head, after all he had lived in a dorm at school, so she continued on, "The portkey will be ready for us first thing in the morning and you are to pack tonight."

"Pack tonight? But why?"

"Why not? We will be leaving very early tomorrow morning," she said.

Draco sighed, "All right mother. Where are we going?"

She smiled at him and said, "New Orleans in the United States of America for a week and then to Rio in South America for another week." She chuckled at her son's expression. His eyes widened to galleon size and were taking the aspect of a dreamy haze with silver twinkles in them.

"New Orleans and Rio, are you sure mother?" He asked in a very hyper voice, almost squeaking with excitement. He was barely able to contain himself, he was twitching with anticipation of going to the places he had always been curious about and wanted to visit.

"Of course, but you must promise to be civil to your companion," she said.

"I don't care if it turns out to be Harry bloody Potter himself. Are we really going to New Orleans?" He asked and when she nodded her confirmation, he did something totally unlike any previous Malfoy, he whooped in happiness, jumped up from the table, ran to where his mother was sitting and wrapped her in the tightest hug she had ever received from her now bouncing son. "New Orleans we're going to New Orleans! I gotta go pack, see you the morning mother. New Orleans and Rio here I come! Woohoo!" He ran out of the room and all the way back to his.

Narcissa found it very hard to return to her impassive mask after seeing the reaction that she had just obtained from her son. Smiling gently to herself, she ordered the house-elves to clean up. She decided that she needed to pack too and the clothing that she was bringing along will be a far cry from what she normally wore. If her son can let himself go, well then, so will she.

--

"Noiro, guess what? Guess what I just found out? Guess? Never mind you'll never guess, besides you can't talk anyway. We're going to New Orleans in America and then we're going to Rio in South America, starting tomorrow. We're going on a holiday with my mother for fourteen days. Imagine two weeks away from this _ugly and dreary_ Manor!"

Harry had never seen this kind of reaction from Draco, ever. '_Tomorrow_', he thought. '_I think that I will have to go talk to Narcissa before we go._' He sort of tuned out Draco's babble, until he heard that he was going to have company of Snape and another student.

He mewed and purred softly, while he sat on Draco's desk chair. It was the only safe place, as Draco was tossing out clothing from his wardrobe trying to find outfits to suit him while traveling. He looked longingly at some soft cargo and cotton pants, plus different T-shirts that he had amassed over time in hiding. He even had jeans.

He walked over to Noiro and scooped him up, taking him along for a ride. He went to his mother's rooms, politely knocking and was soon given permission to enter. Once they had walked in, they were greeted with a similar mess. Draco's eyes twinkled even brighter with laughter and mischief.

"Something you want to tell me mother," he asked teasingly. Noiro was let loose in the room and he watched fondly as the kitten pawed at the hem of his mother's skirt.

"Well, your enthusiasm was a bit contagious my son," she said, ruffling and stroking his hair, "and I for one know that it might be hot out there. Besides who doesn't want to be someone else for a short time," she explained. "I will just be your mum on this trip and you will be just a normal boy, the snooty "_Malfoy_" attitude will stay in this _ugly and dreary_ manor where it belongs. Once there we'll buy, buy and buy. Anything and everything you want for yourself or your studies. What do you say?"

Draco grinned and excitedly nodding his agreement. He leaned in close to his mother and whispered, "Does that mean I can go a bit muggle on this trip?" He was expecting shock and a no, but...

She leaned closer to him and said "Only if you allow me to do the same?" She winked at his stunned expression. "What do you think of these dresses? I like them because they're very colourful, but you might want to leave room for more clothes, since we will be shopping for them too."

He beamed his happiness to her, hugged her and then ran back to his room to pack his muggle style clothing. He left Noiro behind by accident, but then he had always wanted to visit another Wizarding community that wasn't high brow or full of themselves, but his father always wanted to "_maintain appearances_". Besides New Orleans and Rio were rumored to have other kinds magic and he wanted to see if those places have alternative protection charms for his mother and for himself.

She turned to smile at Noiro and then began to talk to him absentmindedly, as she moved around to pack. "Severus will be joining us on this trip because he needs to obtain some rare potion ingredients. As a Potions Master, certain ingredients can only be sold to him if he is present at the time of purchase." She smiled at the inquisitive kitten; it mewed for her to continue. "Severus will be in the company of a student from Hogwarts, but will only be meeting that student at the hotel in the morning."

Noiro was a bit confused and then took off into her wardrobe. She crawled in after him and explained that Harry would be the student that will be accompanied by Professor Snape. She knew about the Order and Severus' place as a spy, but she also knew that the Dark Lord was looking for more traitors, so she kept out of the spying game for the time being. "You'll have to do something about your collar. Draco will notice it right off if it doesn't change when you're like this."

"Narcissa are you sure about this? Those clothes that you're bringing are really muggle and most of them are nearly sleeveless, what about your Mark?"

"Of course I'm sure. The hotel we're staying at caters to pets, especially Wizard ones and has a complete animal safety policy. I don't want my son worrying about Noiro while he's out getting to know the student, but you will have to appear as Noiro from time to time." She sighed when she looked at the Mark, she wasn't too sure what to do about it and said so. "Concealing charms only work so far and then it eventually reveals itself again. It gets harder to conceal over long periods of time."

"I understand, ma'am," he said. Then he impulsively hugged her and whispered, "Thank you Narcissa, for keeping you word." He paused, thinking over some of the spells that he read about Marks, Dark Marks and slave marks, of which most Dark Marks seem to be a variation of.

"With your permission," he said taking her left hand in his, about to lift the sleeve. Curious, she nodded and when Harry rolled up the sleeve he was able to see the ugly Dark Mark in all its dark glory. Searching through his newly expanded memory he recalled something that might alter the shape of the Mark without altering the magics within. "I think that I can change it to look like a normal tattoo, without affecting the internal magic of the thing. Would like me to try?"

"Don't you think that that would be dangerous? What if the Dark Lord senses it? What if he can sense what you're doing?"

Harry shook his head, "I only want to change the look of it. It's not a glamourie, but the properties of the Mark will remain, I can't change that, but I'm sure that I can change the appearance of it. It shouldn't hurt and _HE_ won't be aware that anything has changed because the magic in it will remain the same."

"All right, Noiro. If you think that you can?"

"One question, what's your favourite flower?"

"I like Fire Flowers," she said, then seeing his puzzled expression continued, "Here I'll show you what they look like."

She went to the small bookshelf in her room and pulled out one of the many books she had. Turning to a specific page, she showed him the Fire Flower. It was amazing. It looked like a cross between a small campfire or fireball and a large mum, with the waving flames as petals and they had the most wondrous colours.

"I think that I'm going to have to borrow this book, I have never seen anything like it," he said. He kept looking hard at the flower, trying to memorize every aspect of it and then he thought of it in his mind. Taking her hand once more, he exposed the Mark and concentrated on the image in his mind.

Narcissa felt a tickling, slightly itchy sensation from the Mark and the wild magic that Harry was using. It was definitely a first for her because that Mark has always caused her some type of pain. Closing her eyes, she allowed Harry to do what he could to alter the appearance of the Mark. The tickling and itchy feeling was slowly going away after several long minutes and she no longer felt the magic pulsing around her arm. She finally opened her eyes to find Harry looking at her arm and smiling.

She looked at her own arm and then gasped. The skull had changed to a large Fire Flower of pale greens, blues and golden tans at the centre. The snake had changed to a green stem and leaves winding around and through the flower. The stem continued to wind around her wrist a couple of time and then settled on top of the juncture of her wrist and hand, in the form of another smaller Fire Flower with rainbow colours, that waved and fluttered like its name with a small semi-open bud just below and to the left of it.

"There that's the best that I can do," he said. "I'm sorry that I couldn't remove it and I'm sorry that there's no way to remove the dark magic in the Mark, yet. He will still able to summon you and I sorry about that, but it shouldn't be that painful anymore when he calls you."

"Noiro don't," she said in awe of his ability. "It's all right. This is wonderful and it will fit perfectly with my new dresses. Beside I never expected you to be able to remove the Mark. I'm just glad that it looks like I had a wilder youth and it is so beautiful, just like this. Thank you, Noiro." She kissed his cheek and then with a sharper look, he took the hint and morphed back to his kitten form. Mewing cutely, he kissed her hand with his sandpaper tongue and ran back to Draco's room.

'_This trip promises to be an interesting one, as long as Severus doesn't blow up at that wonderful boy..._' she thought. She couldn't wait until the next morning, still looking at what was once the Dark Mark, marvelling at the lack of pain from it. Once it was taken, under the forceful coercion of her husband, the Mark had always contained pain for any of the Death Eaters.

She was glad that Noiro was able to do something about that and she couldn't wait to see her son's face at who his companion will be on the trip.

--

Harry ran back into Draco's rooms and saw that he had already finished packing. He had transfigured a small pet carrier for Noiro and watched as the kitten sniffed at it disdainfully.

He was laughing at that and then scooped up the kitten, taking him into the bathroom. There to Harry's dismay was a small basin filled with water. He mewed anxiously and tried to scramble away, but Draco was having none of it.

He clearly explained that Noiro needed a bath before traveling. All pets had to be bathed in a special potion in order to prevent the accidental carriage of fleas and other forms of parasites. It was a safety measure that all countries tried to observe when magical pets traveled and it wouldn't do for Draco to neglect his Noiro in such a fashion.

"What if another pet at the hotel was not cleaned like this before travel and you wind up with fleas there? It's not fair to the other animals, just like it wouldn't be fair to you," Draco explained. So Noiro put up with the indignation of having to take a specialized bath.

Surprisingly Draco was very gentle and took great care not the soak the kitten too much. He kept careful watch and when the time was right he added the potion.

It tingled at Harry's skin and fur, but so far nothing else really happened. Then he was lifted out of the water and place in another warm basin to rinse off. Finally he was being dried and he purred his contentment.

"Let's go to sleep, we have to get up early in order to travel." Draco lay down and Noiro lay on his pillow next to the blond head.

'_Companion the dragon in my human form... This promises to be an interesting trip... If only I can get Snape not to mention this to anyone... Fat chance, knowing that Greasy Git, he's going to try and get me expelled or worse sent back to the Dursleys..._' Harry yawned and fell asleep hoping that Narcissa had provided some kind of measure for him to meet up with Snape and he it look like he was there the whole time. '_Too much to think about now... We'll have to see what happens in the morning..._'

--

**TBC...**


	6. What a way to start the day

Disclaimer, Author's Notes, & Warnings: SEE PROLOGUE

**LEGEND:**

"Normal Talk"

'_Thoughts or Emphasis_'

(...Parseltongue...)

--

Chapter Five - What a way to start the day!

--

Harry woke up in the middle of the night with one of his famous Voldie visions. He woke up in a cold sweat, but as he was in his kitten form it didn't really show. He went to one of Draco's larger wardrobes and proceeded to calm himself down. Voldemort was particularly vexed with his Death Eaters and Snape was bearing the brunt of it this time.

Fortunately there were no women called to this meeting. Harry wondered how Snape would be in the morning when he finds out that it is Harry Potter is the one that he will appear to be accompanying. The same Harry Potter he was being punished for being unable to break into the Headmaster's files, to obtain his place of residence.

Harry relaxed into his stretching exercises and then he sat down in the Lotus position to meditate. He was so relaxed after, that he fell asleep in that position, luckily he set up the snitch to sound off.

However, that night was a strange one because Draco was so excited about the trip that he was awake at almost every hour on the hour. He had noticed when Noiro was startled awake, but something in him felt that he should not do anything, but wait and see. He watched his kitten walk in a shaken gate off the bed and into one of his closets.

He grinned at the thought that being in closets comforted his kitten, but then he recalled a time that he observed his mother going into the closet and talking. At the time he was sure that his thought was that she was talking to herself debating what to wear.

Quietly he waited for Noiro to come back. He fell back into his restless sleep and the next time he woke up, which was only a couple of hours later he noticed that Noiro had not returned. Curious about his strange little kitten he made his way silently to his wardrobe and peeked into it.

His eyes widened, big time and he let out a gasp of shock. There in his closet was a person with long black hair and with his eyes closed, in dark jeans and a black T-shirt with white writing. It was written in a different language, which looked like Japanese, but just below was an English translation, _When the sleeping dragon wakes, look out for his morning breath_.

Draco made a little choking sound when he tried not to laugh, luckily it wasn't enough to wake up his strange guest. He looked this person over and found the collar that belonged to his kitten around this person's neck.

He then became angry that someone would willingly deceive him and such a manner. He was ready to throw every hex he knew at this person, but then Draco paused, seriously re-thinking that course of action.

'_Perhaps there will be time for vengeance later; I refuse to act in haste... Think… Draco… Has this person done anything really wrong... He lied... Why??... Why would someone willingly come to the manor?... Why hide his presence from him and his mother?... No, now that I think about it, I think that mother knows, in fact I'm pretty sure she does... Again, why?... Why, hide?_' There were just too many whys in his thoughts to be dealing with at this time of night.

His kitten certainly had his own story to tell, but frankly some things could just wait. '_It's not like he's going to attack me now, because if he wanted to, he could have done so many times before today. I just wonder what's up with the closet thing then again if he needed to return to his human form, a closet is a good place to hide._'

He returned to his bed and reflected on the person he found. '_Maybe he ran away, but why would he choose to come here... Who is he?... This certainly explains Noiro's seeming intelligence... How come mother never told me?... I had every right to know... Maybe he's here to protect me..._' Draco snorted at that thought, how much protection could the guy give if he's a kitten. He crossed his arms behind head and lay down on them, stretching out. '_Well maybe he's the one who will be my companion on the trip, but how will Severus deal with that..._' With his thoughts rolling around, he finally fell asleep with the decision to wait and see what would happen on the trip.

Harry knew that Draco had been watching him. He was ready for anything to happen, but surprisingly the Slytherin didn't make any fuss, he didn't do anything. '_Maybe I can pretend for a while longer..._' he sighed. He didn't like deceiving Draco in this matter and he would have gladly come out in the open before now, about who he really was, but he didn't believe that the reaction he would receive would be all that great.

'_Maybe we can come to an understanding on the trip... yeah, and maybe Snape will be nice to me in Potions..._' He waited for Draco to fall asleep and when he heard the sound of evened out breathing, he morphed back into his kitten form and leaped back into his own pillow next to the blonde head and fell back into a deep dreamless sleep.

--

The following morning was chaos. Noiro was fussing in his carrier, Draco's mother was late in coming down and for some reason he felt that he had the wrong clothing for the trip and had decided to re-pack a few of his belongings.

All in all it felt very rushed by the time they were able to activate the portkey provided by the Lafayette Hotel that they were going to be staying in. As soon as everyone was finally ready, Draco and his mother touched the hotel portkey and were pulled into the receiving room.

Waiting for them was Professor Snape, looking a little worse for wear considering the events of the night before, but surprisingly waiting with him was Remus Lupin.

"Professor Lupin what are you doing here?" Draco asked and when Remus turned to look in their direction, he continued, "I didn't expect to see you here." Clearly surprised, but delighted to see the werewolf again.

Remus chuckled, "The Headmaster wanted me to accompany our sour Potions Master for the trip and as I will be returning to Hogwarts as the DADA teacher this year, I figured that a little holiday is just what the medi-wizard ordered."

"Really?" Draco asked, excitedly, "Would it be all right if I continued to ask the questions I had before you left in third year. Maybe back at school, if not now?"

"I have no problem answering anything that you might wish to know," Remus said. "By the way who it this little guy?" He asked pointing to the little pet carrier with the fuzzy black kitten inside.

"This is Noiro, he'll be staying with the Hotel's pet services, while we're here," Draco explained.

"Noiro," Remus said. "Suits him."

Snape was in the process of escorting Mrs. Malfoy to her rooms and seeing the delay of the other two he barked, "Would you two mind coming along, I'm sure that the staff have other guests to receive in here."

"I have the keys to our rooms Draco, dear," Narcissa said. "Why don't you hand Noiro's cage to Severus and he'll see to it that Noiro settles in properly. I'm sure that you would like to visit a few stores before they close today and then we'll discuss our itinerary for next few days."

"Yes mother," Draco said. He turned to his kitten and said, as he handed the carrier over to the professor, "Now behave for Severus and don't mind his snarky ways, it's better then always having people kissing up to you, yeah?" The kitten blinked and mewed sweetly, almost like a reply.

Snape was surprised that Draco was speaking to the creature as though it understood. Narcissa did say that he would be given something that will make his reason for being here all the more valid and true.

Remus laughed at the expression that Severus had on his face when Draco was talking to the kitten. He hadn't felt better in a long while, as the loss of his best friend, Sirius, was still present within him. No they were never lovers, but still it was a blow when the last of his true school friends passed away. He felt lonely.

That's why Dumbledore requested his assistance to accompany Snape on his two weeks holiday with the Malfoys. The Headmaster wanted to make sure that the two Professors could work together and possibly solve the mystery of Harry's letters.

The Headmaster was convinced that they were too plain and there hasn't been anything written about possible visions that Harry must have been receiving. It looks like Harry was clamming up and refusing to speak to anyone again. Remus sincerely hoped that Harry had not fallen into a depression over the events at the department of Mysteries.

The two professors walked to their shared room and set about releasing the kitten. "Severus you can stop making that face," Remus said. "Draco's right you know. You are snarky and can be very mean."

"Stuff it Lupin, I don't want to hear it. Why did you have to come along again?"

"Professor Dumbledore wanted me to test a theory, although I don't know what he means by that," Remus explained. "Something about Harry's letters being too, plain. I mean you were with the GIT last night and Harry didn't even report that. Honestly I don't even know if Harry would really want to report your torture. You did say that the GIT didn't even you ask any new questions."

Severus snorted every time Remus referred to Voldemort as the GIT. He walked over to the nearest bed and opened the carrier to release the kitten. He watched as the kitten shot out from the confined space and began to explore his surroundings. Remus was watching too, the kitten's actions were kind of strange.

Harry in the mean time was happy to be out of the carrier and took to wandering around the room seeking out, with all of his magical instincts, for listening devices or spells that the snoopy Headmaster had a tendency to rely on. Using the new abilities he gained and using the knowledge from the time he and Narcissa the explored the Manor, Harry was able to find a couple of them and avoid them.

He wandered into the nearest wardrobe and noticed that it had no revealing spells or listening charms on it. It was strange that these things seem to create pockets of safety from nosy busybodies. Going inside, he waited for a moment then morphed into his human form. Remembering where the devices were he stepped out of the wardrobe quickly and disabled them with small pulses of wandless magic.

Both professors quickly drew out their wands out and were about to cast spells to bind and stun him, but Harry moved quickly out of the way casting a couple of silence spells to stop them. Then he locked the door from intrusion and added a couple of other silencing charms to prevent anyone from listening at the door.

He flipped his long hair out of his face and was nearly strangled by Remus, who had smelled his honorary godson. He was about to ask some questions, but realized that he couldn't due to the spell on him. He stepped away and frowned at Harry, tapping his foot.

Severus watched all of this and suddenly realized what Narcissa meant when she said that he would be meeting the student as soon as Draco gave him something. He crossed his arms and waited too.

Harry smiled sheepishly and said, "Sorry about that, but you two had some listening and revealing, actually I think they were scrying, devices in your room. I had to disable them, before a certain nosy old coot could find out that I'm here."

He released the spells on the two professors and waited for the verbal explosion. They didn't disappoint.

"Harry what are you doing here? Why are you with the Malfoys?"

"What do you mean by devices and where's the kitten?" Snape asked venomously. "I don't want Draco getting worried about the little fleabag."

Harry was indignant and said, "Noiro does not have fleas and my guess either the hotel or Dumbledore planted them in order to monitor the activities in this room."

"How would you know about that, Potter?"

Harry stepped forward and said, "Don't take that tone with me Snape! If you want answers to your questions, then ask, but you don't have to be snide about it."

"Harry," Remus began, "Severus is not in the best of moods right now..."

Harry raised his hand to stall him, "I know Remus, I know... How is it that you are able to walk after what he did last night?" He turned his intense gaze to Professor Snape and the poor Potions Master realized that Harry saw the full extent of the torture. Snape turned away, but Harry went up to him and just placed a hand on his shoulder. He whispered, "I know."

"Then why didn't you report it to Dumbledore?"

"Because that meddling, old bastard doesn't care about the minor details. He only wants to know when and where the next attacks will occur, he doesn't want to know about how the details get to him or what some people have to go through to get them," Harry explained. "The GIT wasn't asking you any new questions, just the same old summer babble looking for my whereabouts."

Remus, with his sharp hearing, caught every word. '_Minor details_,' Remus thought. Thinking further, he realized that it was true, the Headmaster didn't even inquire about Snape's injuries or health. He only asked about what the GIT could possibly want now. "Harry..." when the youth turned around to pay attention to him, hoping to change the direction of the talk, he asked, "what did you mean by listening and revealing devices?"

Harry walked over to point out a very ugly statue in one of the corners, then to the desk where there were a few pretty little bobbles and then to the mirror in another corner of the room. "I don't know if the Headmaster gave you any of these, but they are all spelled to listen to everything in this room and to reveal or show events too. They appear to be on a time delay so that the will activate intermittently or when specific names are uttered in this room."

"How did you figure these out Potter?" Snape asked.

"Narcissa showed me how, when I was at Malfoy Manor," he explained. "It was in order to prevent me from wandering into areas that were traps, but I also had access to a few of their libraries and found the spells that would allow me to detect and disable these."

"Harry, why did you leave the Dursleys?" Remus asked, wondering what could possibly prompt Harry into leaving the blood protection. "Weren't you treated better after we confronted them?"

"I was treated like I normally was Remus," Harry sighed. "Although my aunt was a bit different in her attitude, but then again I think that she was lonely. She actually took me shopping with her a few times, under the strict impression that I was to be the designated pack mule to haul everything back for her."

He smiled and then continued, "She allowed me to purchase a few books that I found at an antiquities dealer. These books helped me to complete my summer work in record time. I even had the chance to absorb my books from my previous years, all except the garbage from Lockhart and Umbridge."

Snape choked on a cough that was a poorly hidden chuckle. Remus didn't bother hiding his chuckles.

Harry smiled at them and continued, "I had written several letters to the Order, Ron, Hermione and few of my other friends, but none of them replied. Dumbledore's only reply was "_You are safer with your relatives, young Harry. It would not be advisable to encumber your friends this summer. I don't think that you will be able to return to Grimmwald Place, either. The Order feels that you should recover from your ordeal in peace._" The Order, my foot! It was his decision and it was still not the right one. I haven't even been able to receive any news and Mrs. Figg has kept her mouth shut about the upcoming events, she has not even allowed me to look at any wizarding newspapers. This was, and I'm positive, under the orders of Professor Dumbledore."

Snape was standing there looking that Harry Potter as though it was the first time that he had ever seen him. Still feeling a bit weak from the night before he sat down on the nearest bed. Potter's thoughts and explanations were rational, but to leave the blood protected environment. He frowned thinking back on a previous conversation he heard between Dumbledore and Mrs. Weasley.

--

"But Albus, couldn't the protection be moved?" She had asked.

"No my dear Molly," he said. "It requires that he remain within the wards in order to the blood protection to remain with him."

"What wards, Albus? The blood protection does not set up wards," she said.

"You know that the Order has added several wards in order to protect the boy," he explained. "It is triggered by his presence and magic. If he were to leave or be in danger the wards would alert us. Now leave it be Molly, he is safer there."

--

"That man may be meddlesome, but how did you escape without his knowledge? As far as I know the Order is still receiving regular mail from your owl," Snape said and Remus nodded.

Harry smirked here and then fully secure in the knowledge that the room was free of scrying equipment, he briefly morphed into his kitten form. Turning back into himself, he said, "I can't really tell you all the other details, but just rest assured that the blood protection is with me. I have ensured the safety of my mother's sister by allowing those wards to remain active, for the remainder of this summer, anyway. I have made other plans for next summer."

"Why Harry?" Remus asked.

"I can't remain in the dark about the wizarding world, Remus. I can't remain sheltered and hidden away, when my other friends are constantly exposed to the very danger that everyone wants me to save them from. Even the muggle born in my year know more about what's going on, than I do. They always let me know on the train about it. I feel lost everytime that happens.

I am sick and tired of feeling left behind and feeling out of the loop. Besides they always have a tendency to talk down to me when I don't understand something about the magic studies we're assigned because I haven't been allowed the chance or opportunity to grasp the instructions from my summer studies.

I know nothing of the wizarding world events, but almost all of the other students do. My uncle thinks that I'm a freak and during my past summers I was only able to study after my chores were finished, those never got finished until late in the evenings."

"Chores? Didn't they do everything for you, Potter?"

"Professor if I were a pampered little wizard that had never done a days work in my life and was waited on hand and foot, what do you think I would look like? What would my hands look like?"

Snape was stumped; this was not a direction his thoughts had ever entertained. "What do you mean?"

"Professor Lupin, do you recall what my cousin looked like, at the train station when they picked me up at the beginning of summer?"

Lupin chuckled remembering the fear that the Order had instilled into the Dursleys at the beginning of this summer. His caught on to Harry's point and told his sour colleague, "I remember. Your uncle and your cousin were quite round about the middle. Your aunt was doting on him and wasn't he whining at the time for sweets or something? What was she calling him, anyway?"

Harry snorted, "Diddums. He's mummy's little Diddums and daddy's little man."

"What did they call you?" Snape asked out of curiosity.

"Boy or Freak, depending on their mood or whatever they wanted me to do at the time," he said. "If I had really been the spoiled brat you took me for, I'd probably be competing with Dudley in the over weight category. As it was I was lucky to have something to eat at least once a day." He then showed his hands to the Potions Master, they presently had a strong concealing charm on them, but once he revealed the truth, both Professors gasped at the sight.

Harry's hands were rough, callused, nicked and scarred. Perhaps the worst was that fact that Harry didn't have a pinky on his right hand and his hand was smaller, like a sharp object had cut it, taking the right side of the hand with it. His left hand still had the pinky finger, but it was missing the two joints and was stubby looking. The ring finger of that hand was missing the first joint and his thumb was out of place, like it had been broken and never properly set. The location of his thumb was reminiscent of their gorilla cousins.

"Now do you understand Professor Snape. I was never spoiled and I may seem arrogant, but then again don't half of the Slytherin students in your house seem that same way in order to hide their true feelings or their fears?" Flexing his hands, curling and wiggling his fingers to show them that they still functioned. He turned them over for Snape to examine the palms and calluses. He replaced the concealing charm soon after the professor was finished examining them.

"Why hide them, Harry?" Lupin asked clearly upset to having found this out. '_How was Harry able to hide these for so long?_' Sirius and Harry's parents would be royally pissed off that such a thing has occurred.

"No one knows about them except maybe Dumbledore, but he told me to never reveal them. I have always been able to conceal them; even the muggles that I went to school with didn't see them like they really are. Personally I don't want anyone's pity with regard to them. They function like they're supposed to and maybe when the GIT," he smirked at Lupin, "is gone, I can go and just be myself. Just be… Harry, a young man, with bad eyes, messy hair, ruined hands and someone who is good at flying a broom."

"Well I must assume that you are the student that I am accompanying here, but why didn't Cissa tell us Lupin?"

"Maybe she wanted to see your reaction, Severus," Remus said. "I think that this is a good thing, but Harry what are you going to do here?"

"I will be accompanying you and the Malfoys, as myself." Harry smiled and then modified his cat collar into two chains. One was a hemp choker with jade spacers and the fluttering pewter snitch in the middle; the other was a slightly longer chain of round crystal beads with platinum dog tags at the end. "Do I have time to shower and change before you have to meet up with them? Where will I be staying?"

Professor Snape and Lupin had similar smirks on their faces, which was quite disconcerting to Harry. He didn't know that these two were getting along. "Follow me Potter," Snape said and led him down the hall. He stopped in front of a door and knocked on it.

They both heard a familiar drawling voice, "Come in." Harry face dropped in horror and he was shaking his head no, when Snape opened the door and shoved him in.

"That's where you'll stay and behave yourself or I _will_ contact the others," Snape said and stalked away from the stunned Malfoy and a worried Harry.

"What the..." Draco began, but Harry quickly silenced him and began to check out the room for similar devices, after finding them and disabling them, he removed the charm and back away from the outraged Dragon. "How dare you? How dare you silence me?"

Harry locked the door and cast other silencing charms, knowing that now was the time for explanations. "Listen Malfoy, there were devices, things, in your room that record sound and reveal the people, by way of scrying, anyone who comes to your room."

Malfoy frowned at this, "What do you mean?"

"Seems that Dumbledore doesn't really trust the letters that he has been receiving from me. I have to send letters every three days to tell them that I am fine and that my relatives are treating me all right." Harry explained. He was getting very tired of repeating himself and said so. "Perhaps when we go shopping I'll find a mini-pensieve that will allow me to extract a couple of memories for you to look at. How does that sound?"

"That sounds like you have something up your sleeve, but I want to enjoy my holiday here and I don't want you mucking it up. I suppose that you're the student that Snape has to watch over." Harry nodded. "Great, well then I have chosen this bed, you can have the other."

"All right then," he said making his way into the bathroom.

"Where are you going Potter?" Malfoy asked annoyed that the dark hair youth was not in a fighting mood.

"The name is Harry and I need a shower, see you in fifteen," he said shutting the door to the bathroom. There he washed away that awful flea dip that he had to have before coming here, it was itchy and there for the first time in a while he was able to have a real shower. Pulling on a simple pair of jeans and a plain T-shirt he was out of the bathroom at the time he said he would.

"The name is Draco and it's my turn. Don't forget to remove the spells on the room in case my mother wants to come and see me," he said going in there himself to primp before they headed out.

Harry remembered the key that the goblin had for Malfoy and he decided to make it part of one of his dog tags so that should anything happen in regards to Lucious their advance warning would actually be visible. Not that he needed it, because he was able to charm it to ring just like his mini snitch, should it be activated.

As soon as Draco was ready, they all headed out to meet in the Lobby of the hotel. On the way there, Harry and Draco came to the reluctant agreement to pretend that they don't know one another and that way they would get to know each other away from any outside influences.

"It's reasonable and I know that I really don't know anything about you, other than what you project in school," Harry said, refusing to show all the things that he had learned about Draco while he was in his kitten form.

Draco raised an eyebrow, "Project?! How would you know that what I'm projecting is not the real me?"

"Pulease, Draco," Harry said. "I don't even show my real self at the school. You don't expect me to believe that everyone there does, do you? It's secondary school, we're only going to be there for seven years of our life and then we move onto adult education, marriage or jobs. We either make lifelong, trustworthy friends or none at all. Friends can be made later and right now there is good reason to hide away our true selves, especially with Voldie and his Gits on the loose."

Draco smirked at that and said, "I think that I would like to get to know you outside of the school ground, Harry. It would certainly be preferable for me to be myself without worrying that I'm going to shock you. It would seem that everyone has something to hide."

Harry thought about this for a moment and then made a decision. "You're right everyone hides something, but I won't hide from you, if you don't from me. Just for this trip. What do you say?"

"I say you're on, Harry." Draco nibbled his lower lip and then released the concealing spell he had on his neck and face. Draco had three long parallel scars across his right cheek like scratches made from a large beast. His neck had similar scars, smaller and on his left side.

Harry's eyes widened. "Whoa, what happened?" He asked as he released his own spells from his hands. Draco's own eyes widened at the sight of Harry's hands.

"Father wanted to teach me a lesson about how dangerous some creatures of our world could be. This was the attack from a few animal cubs, which were crazed from lack of food. As if I didn't know that my father had deliberately starved the poor creatures first, in order to teach me that lesson. I'm not stupid." Draco snorted, but continued to try not to stare at Harry's hands. "What about you?"

Harry smirked, "This was from my uncle, his own way of teaching me a lesson. My aunt and cousin don't know about it because somehow I was able to heal the wounds and hide the injuries when I was young, pre-Hogwarts. My uncle wanted to teach me how dangerous muggles power tools could be. You can stare at them all you want. I just wanted to share this with someone who isn't going to want to pity me... Or have me pity them..."

Draco smirked back, "All right, we're agreed. Feel free to return the no pity favour."

They walked into the Lobby of the hotel and Draco stopped. He looked at Harry for a moment and Harry returned the look. They both genuinely smiled, Draco held out his hand, "My name is Draco and I am from England."

Harry took the proffered hand and said, "My name is Harry and it's very nice to meet a fellow countryman." The silliness of this exchange had them in giggles and smiles by the time the reached the adults that would accompany them on the trip.

Remus was smiling at them. Snape was scowling, though not as bad as he usually does in school. Narcissa swept into the room like a new woman. It took her son a few moments before he realized that the happy go lucky woman with her hair tied up messily, but stylishly and in a vibrant sundress was his mother.

"Mother?" He gasped questionningly, his jaw dropping as he stared at her. The he looked to her arm where the tattoo of the Dark Mark was supposed to be. "Mother..." he continued to stare at her arm.

"Draco, I see that you have met your companion. Harry… It is wonderful to finally be able to meet you properly. I am hoping that Draco can persuade you to return with us at the end of the trip. I really would like for you to see our world and it would be nice have someone around for the rest of summer to keep my son out of trouble. Leave the rest be for now my son." She said smiling with mischievous joy, ruffling his hair. "Boys it time for us to go out on the town. That includes you Remus and Severus. We have some serious shopping to do."

Draco tried to replace his hair the way it was, but Harry stopped him. "You know you look better without it looking glued down." Draco just continued trying to primp when the words finally hit him.

'_Glued down_,' he thought. '_It has never looked glued down._' He glanced over towards Harry catching the mischief in those fascinating green eyes. Eyes just like... '_Noiro!_' He thought, his eyes widening, '_I believe that it will be interesting to find out..._'

Severus, meanwhile, was horrified at the prospect of shopping with this woman, but at least with the time difference her enthusiasm should be curbed a bit. Remus wasn't comfortable, but he did promise to come along for the ride. Harry and Draco were stunned by the woman's antics, but Harry was secretly pleased to finally be able to have the chance to acquire proper clothing.

--

**TBC...**


	7. The Fit Hits the Shan

Disclaimer, Author's Notes, & Warnings: SEE PROLOGUE

**LEGEND:**

"Normal Talk"

'_Thoughts or Emphasis_'

(...Parseltongue...)

--

Chapter Six - The fit hits the shan!

--

Their glorious holiday had passed quickly for the boys and they did get to know another. They overcame their need to stare at the scars that they each freely showed to one another and it was perhaps the most freeing time that they had ever had.

There was, as always, minor bits of adventure, but before that there was also that one hiccup known as Albus Dumbldore, Headmaster of Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry. Otherwise known as the oldest most infamous busybody, meddlesome, conniving and an all round stick-his-nose-where-it-don't-belong-to get-more-recognition-for the Light side of this war, old coot.

He showed up a day before Harry's birthday, during their trip to find out how the Professors and the Malfoys had disabled his devices. Harry scrambled back into the boys' joint room and into one of the room's closets, after he caught sight of Dumbledore's back at the Professors' door, as he stepped out into the hallway to join the professors for there card playing evening.

He mumbled "Meddling old fool, why's he here?" and morphed back into Noiro, changing his necklaces back to his cat collar to suit his kitten form once more. Scampering out of the wardrobe as a black blur, he dashed under the one of the beds and remained there fuming in anger for a while, meowling and grumbling his discontent.

Draco in the meantime watched Harry's antics and had heard his mutterings. He waited to see if Harry would come out of the closet. Finally, too impatient, he decided to look in it, just in time to see the kitten scamper out and dash under one of the beds.

Hearing the sounds coming from under the bed and he smiled to himself, knowing that he might have just found out one very big secret, he began to call out, "Noiro, I know you're here. Come on out," he said. He got down on his hands and knees, looking high and low, he eventually belly crawled to look under the beds. "There you are my silly kitty, come on out. I promise that I won't turn you in. Look I'm even wearing a hoody with a kangaroo pouch. It's large enough for you to fit in there."

Slowly the little black kitten came out. He was scooped up and cuddled by the Slytherin. "He's not gonna take you anywhere," he promised, as Noiro mewed a bit. "I promise to keep an eye out for the old fool. In you go," showing Noiro the pouch and allowing him to climb in.

Harry climbed into the pouch and settled down comfortably in pouch of the sleeveless hoody that Draco had taken to wearing in the evenings. Harry wasn't too sure if the Headmaster could see through or know if someone was in Animagus form and he really didn't want to tempt fate on that point.

Still he reasoned that if the old man had been able to see through animagus forms he would surely have known about Pettigrew during the time Percy Weasley was a first year, as the rat originally belonged to him, and not during Harry's third year of school.

Still, if Draco was curious about Professor Dumbledore's presence and the current discussion he was having with Professors Snape and Lupin, he was willing to take a chance and visit them too. Only he would go as '_Noiro_.'

Draco made sure that the name '_Noiro_' was firmly in place within his mind before leaving their room. Going up to the door of his Godfather's suite he paused, listening at the voices coming through the door. '_Strange, he thought. Why not use silencing charms, unless they knew that I was coming..._'

"...brat be found here?" They heard Severus say. "How could you even possibly think that Mr. Malfoy would willingly hang around Mr. Potter?"

There was a soft muttering and then they heard Lupin's voice coming closer to them, "Never mind Severus, I'll get it."

Draco immediately put up a hand to knock as if he had just gotten there and was lost in thought. As the door opened he noticed that the Headmaster was calmly sitting down and sipping tea, while his own godfather was pacing across the floor of the room. "Professor Lupin is everything all right?"

Lupin ran his hand through his hair and sighed, "Come on in, Draco."

"Uncle Sev…" Draco began in a worried tone, but was interrupted by the Headmaster.

"Ah, Mr. Malfoy, won't you join us for some tea?"

"What are you doing here, sir?" He asked, knowing a bit why Sev was out of sorts.

"Well, I thought that I would check up on Severus, to see how he is doing?" Professor Dumbledore explained, but seeing the somewhat confused question of '_Why_' on Draco's features, he continued. "He was not feeling too well the last time I saw him and I really was concerned. I needed to know that he was all right."

"I am sorry Headmaster, but is it a habit of yours to look up every professor during their vacations. I thought that the purpose of vacations was to get away from work? Not to have you following them around when they finally have a chance to get away," Draco said. He was trying to see if he could piss off the '_Old Coot_', but also get the real reason for his presence here.

Unfortunately the eyes of '_Old Coot_' began their notorious twinkling. "No it is not usual, but like I said when I last saw your Professor, he wasn't looking very well. Not even well enough to travel."

Draco looked Severus over and quirked an eyebrow in question. "He looked fine to me when he met us here. Professor Lupin, what did you think? You were here with him before my mother and I arrived."

Lupin glanced at Snape, who just sat down across from their employer, giving him the once over and then looking quickly away. His voice dropped a bit when he replied, "He looked pretty fine to me."

Severus' eyes shot over to the DADA Professor. One of his eyebrows going up when he noticed the very slight tinge of discolouration on the old werewolf's cheeks. He wasn't about to smirk at that, as he was very much aware of the Headmaster's and his godson's close scrutiny. He turned away instead and pretended to be unaffected by this tiny revelation.

"Mr. Malfoy," Dumbledore began, changing the direction of the talk. "How is your mother?"

"She's perfectly fine, sir. Why do you ask?"

"I haven't been able to see her and I really would like to speak with her on a very important matter," he explained. "I would really appreciate having something confirmed by her."

"Well, she's usually in her rooms at this time sir and her 'do not disturb' spell is always in place when she's in there. Perhaps if you told me what this is about I could be of assistance. Mother does talk to me about almost everything."

Professor Dumbledore knew of the arrangements made by Mrs. Malfoy for Professor Snape's vacation, where he was forced to join the Malfoys on the pretense to guard young Mr. Malfoy and another unnamed student. He had hoped to obtain news or the name of the mysterious student. He was hoping that it would turn out to be Harry Potter, but his two Order members persisted in saying that there was no other student here with the Malfoys.

--

It had been pure chance that the Headmaster had found out that Harry Potter was no longer at his relatives' house. He wanted to speak to the boy just before the boy's birthday and had apparated into the boy's room at the house, to not disturb the muggles just yet, only to discover that there was no longer any evidence of Harry's presence.

His owl was still there and she was still delivering the letters to the Order, but there was no Harry to be found in this room or anywhere else in this house. None of Harry's magical belongings were in the room or about the house either. He scanned the home for human presences and found that there was no one there.

Since Harry was due to deliver another letter that day, the magical box, sensing the owl nearby popped up another envelope for delivery.

The headmaster read the address on the envelope and watched it, as Hedwig blinked a couple of times. He placed his hand on the envelope, took it and read it. It was the standard letter from Harry that they had been receiving every three days. He then placed his hand on the box, wanting to examine it closer, but it crumbled beneath the aura of his magical field.

Hedwig knew what to do then, she didn't pause in her actions. She had hopped to the window when the box disintegrated beneath the touch of the powerful wizard and quickly flew away. She knew that she had to leave fast and that she was no longer required to deliver the letters. She had sensed the direction of her master, but since she knew that he was too far away at the moment, she decided to wait for his return in her regular hunting grove.

The Headmaster was surprised that only his touch could break such an interesting object, but that fact of the matter was that Harry Potter was no longer at Privet Drive. The wards were still in place and active. It was puzzling the old codger and he was sure that they knew why, but Harry's relatives were not present either.

--

"I see no harm in telling you," Dumbledore said. "Mrs. Weasley was in contact with your mother earlier this summer and had informed me that your mother was looking for one of the Hogwarts students to companion you for the remainder of summer holidays."

"Oh...that," Draco said. "Yes, she did tell me about that. When I learned that she had wanted Harry Potter to be the one to stay with me, I told her that she was crazy. Potter at Malfoy Manor is just an insane and absurd idea."

Everyone in the room was stunned at those words, except for Noiro who was purring contently from the pouch of Draco's sweater, his tail hanging out and twitching from one opening. Draco continued on like he hadn't noticed their expressions. "I mean, really, Potter in my home is just plain stupidity. My father's foul associates are always dropping by unannounced and that place is chock full of Dark traps that any nosy goody-goody Gryffindor, with a curiosity like his, is bound to get caught in. There's is just no way that I would have allowed that."

"You do have a point Mr. Malfoy," Professor Lupin said.

"It's true," Snape agreed. "Lucius and the previous Malfoy Heads have always added to the number of Dark objects and devices to that house." Seeing the quizzical looks from his colleagues, continued with his information, "That man was always proudly showing off his home to the Dark Lord and his followers. They have always been around from time to time."

"Well I haven't seen them yet this summer, but that could only be because the Ministry is watching the Manor for that kind of activity. Personally, I'm glad that they haven't been there, I _hate_ them." Draco said emphatically, watching his teachers and their reactions to his words and feelings.

"Very well then," said Professor Dumbledore, eyes twinkling, pleased that he may have found another one for his side in the up coming war. "I am proud of you young Mr. Malfoy. It's not often that a student can step away and objectively observe or know the events that surround their lives. It is a hard thing to choose what is right over what is easy."

Draco smirked, "It's often a habit for adults to underestimate children, even when we are getting closer to our age of majority."

Professor Dumbledore smiled indulgently at that, while Lupin thought about it and Snape smirked. "Mr. Malfoy with that kind of understanding, I am sure that you realize that Professors Snape and Lupin have many other duties to perform during their summers. Accompanying two students and the mother of one, should not take precedent."

Snape tensed again, but maintained his control, "Albus, I told you when you arrived that there was no other student here besides Draco and his mother." Lupin nodded, agreeing with that statement because it was true. There was no other student in the area, except for Draco, when the Malfoys had arrived at the hotel.

"Headmaster," Draco began. "All of the professors that I know have taken extended holidays and vacations before except for my Uncle Severus, who has only had a day here and there. Frankly, that has been a concern of my mother and I for quite some time. I personally don't care what my Godfather's other duties are. He deserves the time off and has had need of it for a very long while now. We purposely convinced him that his _other_ skills were needed, for the purpose of protection, during our vacation. He has a strong sense of family honour, sir." Draco said this with all his Slytherin pride, but also with a deep admiration for his godfather.

"We shamelessly played on that. That is why he is here and that is why he will not be leaving until our vacation is over. Surely you won't deny that he is in need of one or deny his right to have one. Besides even my father's Dark Lord and associates do take holiday trips."

"Your mother was quite adamant that there would be someone around that needed looking after," Professor Dumbledore said. Sipping his tea he looked at all the occupants of the room, when his semi-twinkling eyes fell upon the kitten's twitching tail. The kitten sensing the gaze peeked out his head from the other end of the pouch and looked at the Headmaster blinked cutely and mewed.

Draco noticing the glance smirked at Professor Lupin and Lupin catching it knew that there was about to be a prank in progress, began to chuckle. Professor Snape was not stupid and began to glower from where he sat, fully aware that he was about to be made a patsy.

Unknowingly, he was acting right into their hands by just being himself. The kitten, knowing that something was up and catching the drift of Draco's thoughts, scrambled to get out from the pouch.

Draco placed him down on the ground and they all watched as the tiny little black ball of fur moved around the room. The kitten in the contrariness of all cats decided to jump onto the lap belonging to our favourite snarky Potions Professor. Noiro circled around twice, curled up in a comfortable position, partly closing his eyes and began to purr contentedly.

"There really is no other student Professor." Draco said, gazing fondly at the kitten. Then he began to explain, "You see, my mother and I really were concerned about Uncle Sev and we wanted him with us, so we made up a very plausible story. He was to come with us and accompany us in order to look after a student. One that had supposedly, come to visit me before the start of summer in order to assist him in getting away from his abusive family. In truth, though, we wanted him away from whatever stresses he had at the time and decided that he would be the perfect person to look after Noiro," he said smiling and looking at the little contentedly purring kitten, as Severus began to stroke the fluffy fur.

"Noiro is usually very calm, but is not used to the hotel's services, so Uncle Sev's been looking after him, while we go out for the day." He smiled sweetly at Severus' continued sour expression and Remus' chuckles were getting louder. Even Dumbledore was chuckling at his predicament, while the kitten sat there, looking very smug, purring in time to strokes he was receiving.

"How did you acquire the little guy?" Remus asked, watching the long graceful fingers of the Potion's Professor stroking the silky fur of the kitten, silently wishing that those hands and fingers were stroking him.

Dumbledore felt a nagging sense of something in the back of his mind, but his amusement at the kitten's ease with Severus was going a long way to helping enjoy the company of those around him. He was just really concerned about Harry, wondering where the boy could be.

Draco began to re-tell how he came across the kitten and how Goyle wanted to remove the poor thing's head. Then he continued to the point where Pansy, a-hem, tried to pet something other than the kitten and how Noiro reacted to such treatment. Professor Dumbledore and Remus were chuckling and laughing at the tale, while Snape actually looked vaguely amused at it.

Noiro knowing that they were talking about him closed his eyes and purred deeply at the attention that he was receiving. '_This kind of attention is way better then the stares and obsessed fans that seem to populate the Wizard Society,_' Harry thought.

When Draco reached the part about the tags he looked at the kitten, shrugged and continued on with his amusing story. Remus, however, glanced over to the kitten that now opened his eyes and looked directly into his. Remus was caught by the familiar green colour of the kitten's eyes, as they really reminded him of Harry's eyes, he watched avidly as the kitten did something remarkable.

Noiro winked one large green eye at him, an action that was caught by Draco, but he refrained from mentioning it or from even reacting to it. Remus blinked back, his eyes becoming unfocused, blocking out the rest of the conversation, as he was drawn into the past viewing old Marauders' pranking memories. He had briefly forgotten that the day they had arrived, that Harry revealed that he was an animagus.

"Very curious," the Headmaster said after the story was over. "Did you have the kitten checked over in order to be sure that it really is a kitten and not an unregistered Animagus?"

"Of course," Draco huffed. "My mother performed the spells herself to verify the kitten and also had a professional double check his true species. Noiro is just a kitten with a strange genetic background for a black Persian. That's what allows him to have green eyes."

"Forgive me Mr. Malfoy, but there are just too many dangers happening now in our world..."

"With all due respect, Headmaster," Draco started. "I trust my mother and don't really wish to have the reality of those problems intrude into my summer holiday away from that. I am also quite certain that my Godfather would appreciate the peace and quiet for the remainder of our holiday. I really don't care if it is someone with good or evil intentions that sent me my Noiro and I certainly will not let you spell him because you seem to have misplaced your precious Harry Potter."

Dumbledore was startled out of his contemplation at that and then his eyes twinkled, believing that he had caught him, "Ah... Mr. Malfoy I am surprised that you would say something like that. Perhaps there is something you wish to say?"

Draco snorted, as Severus and Remus looked somewhat surprised and yet they were thoughtful. "Please uncle, professor, don't be too surprised. I'm not stupid, I am a Slytherin, after all. That's the only reason he would even come here," he said pointing to the Headmaster. "You spoke to Mrs. Weasley and assumed that my mother would do something like invite Potter without informing you of her intentions. Quite frankly, if you lost him then I am happy for him. Maybe he'll have a summer of peace and quiet before having to climb back up on that Gryffindor pedestal that you want the Wizarding World to worship him on. Any further conversation now is too tedious to even consider. I'm going to bed. Good night professors, see you in the morning. See you at school Headmaster."

Draco walked over to his godfather and picked up his kitten. Just before he walked out of the door, he felt a whisper of magic hit the kitten in his hands.

Noiro's fur stood up on end and Noiro himself hissed his displeasure. He was growling and fussing in the hands that held him. Draco put him down on the ground and everyone in the room noticed that the kitten's fur was sticking up all over the place. He now looked like a puffed up round black cotton ball with all his fur sticking up wildly from the effect of having a spell cast at him.

"Now look what you've done. I hope that you've found everything that you were looking for Headmaster. I'll be seeing you in September." Draco said leaving the room, following the irate kitten, nearly slamming the door and muttering, "Interfering… meddling….grahh"

--

The adults all watched, as the young Slytherin stalked out of there room and then the professors turned incredulously towards a now somewhat sheepish looking Headmaster. Snape raised an eyebrow questioningly and Lupin was staring in shock that the Head of the Order would take such actions. Moody was more likely to be the one to spell the poor kitten, not the Headmaster.

"Albus, was that really necessary?" Snape began, "You know now that if you ever wanted to get on my godson's good side, you have just ruined it by your actions."

"I understand Severus, it's just that I'm worried about our young Harry," Dumbledore began to defend his actions. "It's imperative that we find him before something can befall him." He sighed, "I really am worried about the boy."

Lupin didn't know if this was a ruse in order to make them confess and quite frankly in the couple of days of having been here, he found that Harry was quite capable of taking care of himself. It was a pleasure to actually see the youth smile from something as inane as shopping for clothes and other such nonsense. He turned away from the Headmaster and decided to let Snape deal with the interfering old bugger.

"I'm sure that I will be able to talk to Draco, however I believe that you have received all the answers that you were seeking, even if they were not what you wanted to hear," Snape said. "Perhaps you'll have better luck back in England. Potter would have needed to be part of the Portkey list to this hotel in order to come here in the first place, as would have any other student leaving the country. There is just no way to fake that. I'm quite certain that Potter will turn up and more than likely he will turn up at the Hogwarts platform with all of his cronies fawning over him, come September first."

Dumbledore knew then that there was nothing more to do. He would just have to continue his searches elsewhere. "I do apologize for interrupting your holidays. Please come back when you can, I could use your expertise in trying to find Harry Potter. I wouldn't want him to fall into the wrong sort of crowd." Slowly he got up and left the hotel with a loud apparition CRACK!

Snape not one to trust the old coot from adding or re-activating the scrying spells, did a check on their room. Lupin noticing his actions decided to help out. Once they discovered the reactivated items, they disabled them once more knowing that Dumbledore could not justify his return for those.

--

In the boys' room, Draco was pacing up and down the room muttering incredulously at the actions from his Headmaster. "How dare he... school unity what utter shite... what right..." and so on. Noiro just sat on the edge of Draco's bed and watch the dragon pace back and forth. He knew that Draco had never thought much of Dumbledore, but witnessing something as basic as a lack of trust can be overwhelming.

Draco suddenly stopped and looked at Noiro with a calculating gaze, he whispered softly. "Have the scrying or revealing spells been re-activated in this room?"

Noiro gave him a crooked look, as though trying to contemplate the question, when in fact he sent a small spell burst to disable the items again. It seems as though Dumbledore had succeeded in re-activating the objects from a distance, but since Harry had disabled them once, he knew what to look for and was able to do so again.

Draco felt the magical pulse circle the room and then he looked at his kitten, "You done?"

Noiro just mewed cutely in his direction. Draco huffed and then smiled. He picked up the kitten to cuddle him for a bit. "I missed my silly little kitty," he said. He settled down on the bed with the kitten curled up on his chest. Making sure that the tags were facing him he began to ask a few questions. "You're absolutely brilliant you know that. My guess is that you have a back-up system activated to prevent you from being revealed in this form," he whispered and watched the answer flowing on the tags.

_No transforming back to my human form for 24 hours after any revealing spells, potions, hexes or any other type of magical combination which forces the revelation of animagus forms._

"It doesn't matter," Draco said, petting the little kitten that was now purring contentedly. "I really did miss my Noiro. I won't tell anyone, I promise. Will you be coming back with us to the Manor? As Harry?" Noiro just blinked and nodded his little head. "Good, I don't want to be alone there, but you're going to have to start talking to me about yourself and you're going to have to be in your human form sometime at the Manor too. I told you stuff about me, it's only fair." Noiro leaned forward and gave a tiny little rough kitten kiss on Draco's cheek in agreement. They closed their eyes, falling into a deep sleep.

--

In the professors' room, Snape felt that it was now safe to bring up an issue that was brought forward by his godson. "So," he began. "You thought that I looked '_pretty fine_'?"

Remus became a little bit flustered, but like a Gryffindor he answered bravely, "Yeah. So what about it? I've always thought that you looked fine. In fact you look very fine to me." He was moving towards the potions master in a semi-joking predatory manner.

Severus raised an eyebrow in question, but then noted the slight feral glint in the DADA professor's eyes. His smirk changed into an almost smile and he said, "Well it's about time that you said something." That's as far as he got before his mouth was covered in a very possessive kiss, stealing his breath away. He was pushed back onto his bed and covered by a very fine specimen of the male form.

--

**TBC...**


	8. Shadow Slipping

Disclaimer, Author's Notes, & Warnings: SEE PROLOGUE

**LEGEND:**

"Normal Talk"

'_Thoughts or Emphasis_'

(...Parseltongue...)

--

Chapter Seven - Shadow Slipping

--

Draco woke up the next morning with a familiar purring in his ears and whiskers tickling his cheek. He let out a little chuckle. "You know what, my silly little kitty?" He asked the tiny black cotton ball next purring next to his cheek.

His only reply was a tiny "Meeooo" and a deeper rumbling purr.

Draco's eyes locked with the deep green of his kitten. "I really did miss you these past few nights, Noiro." He said, seriously hoping that Harry would understand what he meant. Noiro just blinked cutely and licked the tip of the dragon's nose, causing Draco to sputter and sit up.

Noiro tumbled out of the bed and scrambled up onto the other one, looking smugly proud of himself, in the only way a kitten can. Draco stood up with his hands in his hips, mock glaring at Noiro's audacity. Noiro just looked down his nose and blinked at him, as though to say '_Wasn't me_'.

Draco laughed and said, "I need to shower before we go out for the day. I guess that you'll be like this until this evening so I may as well take advantage of the fact that you're basically powerless." The kitten meowed once and hopped down from the bed, as the dragon left to take care of business.

'_No way, Dragon_,' thought Noiro. '_You try it and you've got one big surprise coming for you._' He decided to see the dragon's mama and left the room, heading to Narcissa's room. She opened the door, looking around she noticed the tiny black ball at her feet and allowed him into her rooms. She had received a note from Severus regarding the events of the previous day with Dumbledore and has been wondering about the repercussions of the Headmaster's actions.

Noiro told Narcissa about the 24 hour lock into his form just like he told Draco. "Give me a few minutes to get ready and we will head out for the day. Perhaps we'll change our plans a bit until tomorrow."

Noiro just meowed and headed back to his and Draco's rooms. He toddled back onto Draco's bed and curled up on the dragon's pillow like its owner and king, purring contentedly.

--

Old Lady Chelsea was one of the best seers of the New World. She was even rumored to be a witch however that was never proven to be true among the natives of New Orleans. She was older than dirt, yet there was something about her that made her seem constantly youthful. She rarely left her tea reading salon and with the help of her varied companions, she didn't need to.

Her companions were the orphans of the streets. In exchange for food and sometimes shelter, they would fetch whatever she requested. It didn't matter what it was they just had to follow the directions exactly and get the object, be it someone or something it would be always be at the right location that she had indicated and at the appointed time, too.

This time she called upon one of her favourites to fetch a very special something. "Coba," she called out, knowing that this mischief-maker was always on the lookout for something special to do for this wonderful old lady.

He wasn't around at the moment, but Old Lady Chelsea knew that he heard her call. There was something about his lineage or genetics that allowed him to hear or see on a different level.

He was abandoned as a little tyke and was still kinda on the small side, he looked only ten after all. He had shaggy yellow blond hair that hung in his dark gray-green eye, which was often mistaken for hazel. His other eye was the colour of the palest blue, like the sky on a clear summer day. He often wore what is commonly known as skater gear, loose pants, large pockets, layers of combination short and long sleeve t-shirt jerseys. He never walked somewhere when he had his wheels.

His wheels were part of his ankle high black and brown hiking boots. He had found the boots in the garbage can of an obscure out of the way Wizarding alley. The wheels are retractable and can travel over any surface without jarring the rider providing the smoothest ride. Not only that, but were magicked to appear like regular roller blades or roller skates, especially around muggles.

He knew that the alley that he found them in was different from regular folks on the street, so in keeping his ear to the ground he actually found out about the Wizarding world. He had his suspicions from time to time about Old Lady Chelsea, but as she never pushed him to do what he didn't want to do and he never confronted her a about it.

The old lady was wise enough to know that Coba would be needing some training in his "_other_" skills, yet she had never felt the right vibe around city that told her that there was someone there for the boy.

Her fetch patterns always landed the helper into an appropriate environment for them to live and grow in. Never once was there a child that she couldn't find a good home or situation for, except for Coba. That little brat always seemed to slip through her fingers and placement schemes, but that wasn't going to happen today.

She knew that the object he would fetch would bring with it its own company and a very good solution for him. Perhaps now was the time to reveal the Wizarding world to him. She just hoped that the fetched object will not be too upset by this coming day's events.

--

Narcissa was sitting on a green, yellow and white checked blanket in Lafayette Park. She was wearing a multi-coloured light blue tie-dyed sundress with reds and purples that whirled in the wind when she walked around the park. Everyone, not in their little group, thought that she must have been an eccentric woman because from time to time they could see her cradling a little black kitten with the most amazing green eyes, plus she had the most unique flower tattoo on her arm, that some muggles could have sworn had moved, but they all firmly believed it to be something of an optical illusion.

After breakfast on the morning after Dumbledore's meddling, they had decided that in the afternoon they would have a picnic lunch or spot of tea in the Park, instead of going on a shopping spree. Harry had wanted to get more clothes at some muggle stores and mechanic books, but since he was currently stuck in kitten form, they had decided to wait for the next day and start.

Draco was dressed in a casual dusty green v-neck ribbed short-sleeve shirt and tan coloured beachcomber pants with very comfortable sandals. He was currently playing a muggle game of catch with the two professors.

Harry had shown them how to play it a couple days ago. They had all purchased baseball mitts, even his own mother, at Harry's insistence. Harry explained that there was a true game for the mitts and balls. He admitted that he didn't know the rules to the true game, but that it always looked fun to play catch by throwing the ball back and forth between them.

They were all intrigued and addicted by the simplicity of the game. They had played a simple game of catch the night that they purchased the mitts and they all acknowledged that there was something relaxing about it firing a ball at knowing that there was no excess speed, nor brooms or magic involved. It was all about personal power.

Well everyone acknowledged this with the exception of Professor Snape, who just grumbled about getting sweaty and dirty when he accidentally crashed into Lupin. They had chased the ball in the same direction.

Make no mistake Snape still felt that he had to disparage the muggle game, but when Harry pointed out that he could return his mitt, Snape just ignored the suggestion as foolish because the mitt had already put to use. Secretly he didn't mind crashing into Lupin, but no one knew that. Except perhaps Lupin, who could obviously smell the different pheromone levels in his compatriot and he kept his mouth shut, but his hopes for more rose up to the occasion.

On this day Snape hardly put up a fuss about playing the game and even if he wouldn't admit it, it was evident that he was enjoying himself more than he ever had as a school bound student of Hogwarts. He wasn't quite snarly or grim and his sarcasm was kept to the events of the game only, not to the competence or lack thereof of his companions.

Lupin was just happy to be out of doors, doing something. He was saddened that Sirius wasn't there to enjoy the time with Harry, no matter what form Harry was stuck in. It would have been the cutest picture to see the huge black grim-like dog and the smug little kitten playing with one another.

Everything was going well until it came time to sit down and relax. Harry was getting a little restless. He had the strangest feeling that they or more specifically he was being watched. Worse the feeling was accompanied by the nagging sensation that the one doing the watching was not there for fun. Still he settled into Draco's lap to take a nap, as the others were about to begin their meal.

--

Coba was watching the little family unit with a touch of jealousy. He had always wanted to be part of such a unique grouping of people. There was something about them that was familiar, almost a homecoming. There was, also, something about them that called out to something within him.

Coba shook his head as though to shake off the useless sentimentality. Its not like Old Lady Chelsea knew how old he really was. He'd been around longer than most youths of his generation and yet he hadn't begun to even look like he was aging at a proper rate. The Old Lady never knew that Coba had watched his family grow older while he remained the same. He knew that she was trying to find some kind of situation for him that would allow for him to have something like a family.

He knew what happened to the others like him when they had finished a job for her. There were a few like him that needed something to move their lives forward. In either case what the Lady wanted the Lady got. '_Enough of this_,' he thought. '_Might as well pick up what I've come for._'

He moved from the lee of the tree that he was in and merged with its shadow. It was a little trick that he had long ago learned as something that only he could do. He just called it "Shadow Slipping". It was the sensation like slipping into a pool of cool, calm water.

This useful gift allowed him to obtain several items that helped him have a small standard of comfort without really resorting to out and out theft. He only took the excess from those that could afford it after all and it's not like he would ever be able to work for a living until he could legally prove that he was older than his looks.

From the shadows he watched the interesting group waiting for his chance to snatch the object. Creeping within the shadows, he made his way ever so slowly to the blanket on the ground. He was patient, each step he gathered his skills and ensured that the surrounding shadows did not waver from their true form.

He had spent most of the afternoon watching them and their activities. He did feel that there was something off about the shadows around the kitten and the man with the tawny brown salt & pepper hair with the golden amber eyes. It was like they were both more than what they seemed.

--

Snape had a bad feeling for a while now. Something was wrong with where they were. He didn't feel at ease any longer. The charms that he had secretly placed on Draco and Harry, pardon me Noiro, were fine. He had done a quick scan to see that they were still in place. '_No it's something else_,' he thought. '_We're being watched, I can feel it._' Only his eyes moved to take in all the information around him.

He didn't like this feeling, but there was nothing to see. Since his godson was having a good time today he didn't want to be the one to ruin his fun. He could just picture the comments that Potter or Lupin would have concerning his paranoia and yet, _'Potter has been very civil to me all of this time and Lupin just bares watching_.'

'_Potter doesn't want to ruin his cozy chances with the Malfoys_,' he thought. '_That must be it. That's why he doesn't fight back. Hmph! It's not like I could take away points from Gryffindor for this. School does not start for another few weeks._'

Lost in his contemplation he failed to notice that his own shadow twitched for a moment and then settle.

--

Noiro's nap was disturbed as he felt his fur rising at the magical static that seemed to increase in the area within the last few minutes. Cutely blinking his sleepy eyes he was not quite aware of his surroundings just yet. The hands that held him were not doing so in a painful manner and therefore he assumed that he was safe at the moment.

Still blinking away his lethargy, he was slowly becoming aware of the grayness around him. He had never seen such a multitude of varying grays and blacks. The hands that held him tightened when the owner of them realized that the sleeping kitten was now awake.

Coba was slipping through the shadows at a faster pace, holding tightly onto his prize, although not holding tight enough to hurt the kitten. He didn't know why he had to obtain the little kitten, but he always did as Old Lady Chelsea asked.

It was getting harder for Coba to continue in the shadows because there seemed to be a counter pull, so he slipped into a nearby alley way and then out of the shadows. He hopped the curb and started wheeling down the street at a fast pace.

Noiro was starting to get panicky and began to wiggle in the hands that held him. He was fussing and growling with increasing volume and frequency. His instincts were pushed forward and he couldn't stop making noise. He tried to bite the hands that held him, but whoever it was knew just how to hold a kitten so that he couldn't move too much.

Noiro's human mind was busy working overtime to analyze the magic that had been used and was busy monitoring the pull of the tracking bond that Severus had placed on him and Draco. Harry's mind was still processing the knowledge when he felt the backwards tug from the bond. '_At least that's working_', he thought. '_They should be placing a tracing spell soon to track the bond however I'm going to have to hide that from my capturer._'

Coba was aware of the tug on the kitten, but had no practical knowledge on what it was and how it worked. He just assumed that they had bumped into an object, which was quite common in the World that he usually slipped into.

Once Coba has slipped into the shadow world, he could never tell if the objects or things moving around there were part of the real world or just the shadows of the things in the real world. He never investigated these things because he didn't want an encounter with another creature or being that could maneuver in this shadow state.

Usually it was tricky to get in and out of the shadows through slipping, but Coba was experienced in it and this was what Harry was analyzing. The ease proved experience and the magical aura and currents flowing around his capturer allowed him to know quite a bit about the person carrying him away from Draco and the others.

Coba was barreling towards the Old Lady's Tea Shop and only paused minutely to retract his wheels into the soles of his shoes. Running into the shop, the door clanged open and the bell above the door tinkled.

Old Lady Chelsea was sitting calmly in the back. The afternoon tea was ready for the guests that she knew would be arriving shortly. She knew that this time Coba would not be able to escape her. The one he carried would see to that. She was sensing the spells fall like a whisper to tie Coba to the shop and even to prevent him from being able to slip into the shadows.

Oh yes, she knew all about his slipping abilities, she just did not know how to prevent him from doing it, but at least she knew that the one carrying him did. Holding out her hands, she gently accepted the kitten from her little errand boy.

Chelsea looked into the large green eyes of the dark little kitten and said, "Welcome Harry Potter."

--

**TBC…**


	9. Hybrid Animagus

Draco's Creature Obsession

Disclaimer, Author's Notes, & Warnings: SEE PROLOGUE

**LEGEND:**

"Normal Talk"

'_Thoughts or Emphasis_'

(...Parseltongue...)

--

Chapter Eight - Hybrid Animagus

--

Chelsea looked into the large green eyes of the dark little kitten and said, "Welcome Harry Potter."

If a kitten could gape in shock then this one just did. Noiro's eyes widened and his jaw dropped, he then narrowed his eyes with suspicion. The old woman just chuckled and winked at the kitten. Noiro was quick on the uptake, but still blinked cutely in his bewilderment.

The old lady's teashop reminded Harry, somewhat, of Trelawney's class. There were long string-beaded hangings instead of tapestries and yet the glass beads themselves formed patterns and pictures. There was a table set out and ready for the evening tea which looked to have been set up to accommodate the old lady, the kid, Harry and his traveling companions altogether.

Even Coba was shocked the Old Lady Chelsea would call the kitten Harry Potter, when the kitten's family had been calling the little black puffball, "Noiro". Besides Harry Potter was _the_ Wizard World celebrity of Britain, almost like the royal princes, what could he possibly be doing here in New Orleans.

"Ma'am," Coba began. "Why call the kitten that? His family has been calling him Noiro all day."

"I can see that Coba," the lady began. "Why don't you have a seat my young friend? The others will be here very soon."

'_The others?_' Coba thought, then his eyes widened in another form of shock. '_The kitten's family! Shit… I've got to get out of here._'

He stood up and practically bolted for the door. As soon as he reached the entrance, he gently bounced back into the room, as though pushed away from the doorframe. He tried again, this time at running speed and again was repelled from the entranceway. He was beginning to get frustrated, when he remembered his slipping abilities, but those didn't work either.

The old woman chuckled at his attempts and Coba finally yielding to his frustration began to take it out on Lady Chelsea.

"What the hell do you think you're laughing for?" He growled out. "How dare you laugh at me? I want to know what you did to me and I want to know right now you old witch!" He finished in a screaming frenzy, forgetting how old he actually was. His fists were clenched at his side and he was stepping towards the old woman, threateningly.

It looked like he was preparing to assault her, so Noiro in turn began to growl and hiss at the boy.

Tired of his form and knowing that it was nearing time to get back to his human form, Harry decided to change back into one of the hybrid forms that he had discovered.

He was at Draco's new and hidden house fixing the upper floor balcony railing when his glasses slipped and fell to the ground. Needing to see them, he seemed to automatically adjust his sight to that of the eagle from his gryphon form.

Needless to say Harry experimented with these partial transformations in order to maximize his chances and abilities. So now, right in front of Coba's mismatched eyes and the old woman, the kitten leapt from her lap and began elongating and shifting his form.

Suddenly Coba was faced with a young man just slightly shorter then himself, with the same dark green slit pupil eyes of the kitten, ears perched at the top of his forever messed up hair and slanting back in displeasure, tail swishing back and forth behind him, dressed like an ordinary skate bum from the streets and very sharp looking nails and teeth.

"You had better learn to control yourself kid," Harry said. "The old woman is not the one who's stopping you from leaving, I am."

"You!" The youngster exclaimed. "How is that possible?" He asked and then he got mad. "How dare you prevent me from leaving, you… you… you freak."

"You thieving brat. How dare _**you**_ take something that doesn't belong to you?"

"I was just following the old bat's request."

"Don't call someone names, if you're pissed off at someone else," Harry stated. "And don't blame her or anyone else for the actions that you've decided to take."

"Screw you. Who are you to tell me what to do? Or how I should be acting?"

"Sod off, you little shit. It doesn't matter who I am, it's your own fault if you're stuck."

"How can it be my fault? I've always been able to leave after a job…"

"Right and that's how come you never had to handle the consequences of your actions. Now sit down and shut your trap…"

"Go to hell you jerk. You can't keep me here against my will. I want to leave. NOW!!" Coba shouted and stomped his foot like a spoiled child that lost his favourite toy.

"NO! You kidnapped me against _**my**_ will, so now you _**will**_ accept the consequences of your actions." Harry yelled right back. "You will stay right here until my family finds us and you will sit down quietly or I'll tie you to that chair until they come for me," crossing his arms, brows furrowed and glaring hard, not once backing down, his tail twitching back and forth in agitation.

Coba huffed and tried for the door once more, but Harry whispered a few words that called his magic to work for him. It lifted the kid from around his middle and sat him down hard onto the chair near the old woman and basically glued his behind onto the chair.

Unnoticed by the current occupants of the room, the others arrived in time to see the two smallest people in the room square off against one another.

Draco and mother were taking in the décor of this very eclectic room, whereas Professors Snape and Lupin were gaping at the confrontation that was taking place before their eyes.

Coba was tearing up, his mismatched eyes watering just enough, trying to gain some sympathy from the others that entered the room and Harry was not falling for it one bit.

"Mr. Potter," sneered Snape. "I would think that you would know when to back off after making a child cry."

"Professor," Harry snarled back. "Surely you're familiar with the expression 'beware of crocodile tears', if not let Remus enlighten you…"

"Noi… Har… " Draco gasped, unable to say any one of Harry's names. He was shocked, to say the least. It wasn't often that a person was mixed with an animal in such a fashion, creating… dare he think it, yep, he thought, '_Such a cutie._'

He immediately became flushed when some of his naughtier dreams of restraints, blindfolds and fur mittens, came to the front of his mind, but under the current circumstances he re-focused quickly on the situation at hand. "What have you done to yourself?"

A chuckle, followed by mirthful laughter filled the room, as the old woman was enjoying the multiple interchanges among her guests. The laughter was filled with music and magic, with that sound a memory surfaced among the older members of this little group.

"Madam Belle Diviner!" Narcissa exclaimed, looking at the old woman with surprised curiosity. "How in the world… Why do you look… What is going on?" Finally settling on one particular question, while wondering why her old friend is looking, well, old.

"Mistress Crystal Gypsy," the old woman replied, still with a mirthful chuckle. "How are you doing? I hope that you're still gazing into that marvelous crystal ball of yours and I am hoping that your dream interpretation skills have improved."

She was looking so pointedly at Narcissa, that Draco's poor mother, actually felt the need to avert her eyes downward and shuffle her feet, looking like guilty four year old who's been disobedient. Instead, though, she took on a saddened air that everyone in the room felt and seemed to realize that there was more to be said, but no one knew where to begin.

Harry picked up the three teapots from the table because he knew that the adults needed to discuss something important. "I'll take these and fill them, shall I?" He asked the old woman.

She nodded her agreement and then said, "I'd like one of them to be your '_Special-Teas_'. The apple and clove." Harry just nodded and ushered a gaped mouthed Dragon and a sulky brat in front of him.

"Come on you guys," he said. "They need to talk to one another." He took Draco by the arm and steered him into the direction of the kitchen and tapped Coba on the back to get him to lead the way.

--

Once in the kitchen, Draco rounded on Harry and said, "What if I needed to hear what was going on in there?"

"If you need to know then your mother would tell you, wouldn't she?" He asked pointedly. Harry really had gotten to know Narcissa quite well and was able to predict some of her actions, just as well as Draco.

Draco just sniffed at him, sticking his nose in the air and sat down at the small table in the kitchen to wait out the boiling of the water.

Coba tried to leave through another doorway, but was still unable to leave until Harry decided to let him go. "Why won't you let me go?" He asked petulantly.

"The old lady has something important to tell you and I could see that she was worried that if you left she would never be able to tell you what that was," Harry explained.

"You could see all that?"

"Sure. The eyes and instincts of a cat are much better then that of a dog. Dog may be more inclined to be empathic, but cats have a preservationist instinct and sometimes a greater sixth sense. That's why my animagus base is that of a cat." Harry explained. He didn't want to go into too much detail just yet about his other form, but since Draco was still pouting, which Harry thought was a cute expression on the blond, he figured that the Dragon wasn't paying too much attention to what was being said.

--

The adults had all taken a seat and Old Lady Chelsea waited for an explanation. They were all silent until finally Narcissa began.

"Lucius threatened my son," she explained sadly. "I didn't have it in the beginning, but the Dark Lord had Marked some of the wives, just before he disappeared the first time around. I wasn't going to get Marked, but Lucius said that if I didn't he would make sure that I never saw my son again. He described everything that he planned to do to him."

Her lips trembled, but she continued on, "His descriptions were monstrous and foul. I made him swear on his magic not to do anything to Draco, if I chose to be Marked. The Dark Lord taps into our magical abilities, if we can't prevent him. There are very few of us that can."

Remus was frowning at this and Severus was downright thunderous. "He promised me that you wouldn't be Marked."

"Promised you?" She asked.

"Yes," Snape said. "You are one of my best friends, Cissa. I never had many of those, so I had him promise me that he wouldn't have you Marked. He agreed. I knew I should have had him swear on his magic."

Remus was looking at the way that Narcissa was dressed, but he only saw that Fire-Flower tatoo, not the Dark Mark. "Narcissa..." He didn't know how to begin asking why there was no ugly black Skull-Snake thing on her arm.

She lifted her arm to show the beautiful flower tatoo on her forearm and the two at her wrist. "It's beautiful, isn't it?" She said with a sigh. "It so beautiful, but it's so full of evil too."

They were all a little confused, but the all she said was, "Harry did it. He was able to change outer appearance only, not the internal magics. I think that if he had time to study them, he might eventually figure out how to get rid of them."

Severus was stunned. Potter was able to alter the appearance of the Mark without altering the internal magics. That was something that he had hoped could have been done to him. '_Although, if the Dark Lord finds out, one of two things might happen. He might want to know how to alter them in order to hide his faithful servants or he might attack us through our Marks to show us his displeasure._'

"I see," said Lady Chelsea. "Do you have any of your divinatory abilities remaining?"

"I can sometimes daydream true sight," Narcissa said. "It was how I was sure that Draco would be taking home a black kitten on the day that we decided to venture to Diagon Alley. I just didn't know who that kitten was. I do know how he knew about my request to Mrs. Weasley and I just glad that the boys are getting along for now."

--

"Aren't you curious about the Wizarding world or anything?" Harry asked Coba.

"Nah," he said. "I pretty much figured that out 20 years ago." His eyes widened and he slapped his hands over his mouth and having let slip a huge secret.

Draco's gaze fixated on the boy sitting across from him. He noticed the dual eye colour, which he thought was cool, but he also saw age in the eyes, despite the fact that the body in front of him was young. "Spell mix-up?" He asked. Coba shook his head, no. "Potion accident?" More head shaking.

"Genetic make-up," Harry said. "You've magical creature genes in your line."

Coba's eyes widened, as he stared back at Harry. "How could you possibly..."

Harry smiled and said, "I saw it in the shadow world." Coba just blinked at that and tilted his head in confusion. "You may have been kidnapping me at the time, but as any good abductee knows, you have to get as much detail as you can about you capturer in order to escape them. So I looked at you in the shadows and saw some of your magical heritage."

Coba blinked and then asked, "Can you tell me? I have an idea, but I do find it hard to believe that such a thing exists."

Draco was fascinated. Harry in the meantime was still preparing the tea, but also he was slowly changing back into himself. Draco was disappointed that the cute ears and tail had vanished. Harry was now growing some too. He waited to see what Harry had to say about the boy.

--

"How are you going to explain that to the Dark Lord when he calls you?" Severus asked his friend.

"I'm hoping that what I've daydreamed will come to pass and that I can escape before anything happens," she said. "I've been able to prepare, just in case Lucius and some others escape from prison. If that happens, I know that Draco will be taken to a safe house that only Harry knows how to get to."

Severus' brows arched into his hairline. "Potter is going to willingly assist your son?"

"Severus," Remus said slightly chiding. "Harry is _not_ James. Please refrain from thinking of Harry like he was his father incarnated. There's more of Lily in that boy than you think. James may have been a bully to you in school, but I have never seen Harry do anything like the things that Sirius and James pulled on you."

The Potions Master just frowned. '_Why do I have a knee jerk reaction to hate him then? It's true that the boy was nothing like his father, but my first reaction is to strike at him and I don't know why._' He was lost in thought for a moment, coming to the conclusion that he would have to have some magical medical tests run in order to see if there was an outside influence to his reactions.

The others continued on with their conversation. "I think that I have a place of sanctuary for Narcissa, but you will need the tail feather of a gryphon animagus in order for my spell to work for you."

"Does the Ministry here have a Registry of Animagus?" Remus asked. "I know that there is no gryphon animagus in England."

Old Lady Chelsea nodded, "Of course there is. I don't know where to look, but if you do then perhaps you could find out for us."

Remus nodded that would be fine by him. He didn't really want to shop much longer with Narcissa. She was a terror with clothing. Even Severus fell under her command out here. They were hustled from shop to shop and forced to try on a few things. Although, he willingly admitted that he liked to see Severus in muggle jeans. They were form fitting and he loved the view.

--

"He's a half-elf," Harry said. "He glamoured his ears and he can't grow up unless he has guidance from someone magical or lives permanently in the Wizarding world during his development."

Draco looked hard at Coba and Coba just looked back blandly. Draco could see nothing of a house-elf in him. "What are looking at?" The youngster asked. "Don't be an idiot, I'm not part house-elf."

Harry chuckled because he knew that that was what Draco was looking for. Any semblance to the only elves he had ever known. Draco frowned, but then smiled at Harry. "All right then. How is he going to grow up, if he doesn't want to move or change?"

"Thanks for jumping to that conclusion," Coba said. "I never said I didn't want to grow up. I just didn't think that anyone would know how I should go about it. Plus I didn't want to be shunned for being different."

"I wouldn't worry about that too much," Harry said. "I'm sure that what the Old Woman wants to tell you is something to help you." The kettles whistled their tune and Harry mixed an herb here, a couple of dehydrated fruit there and he had two full teapots of '_Special-Tea_', but the other one was just hot water. He didn't want Snape to get on his case and assume that Harry would presume to know what the Potions Master really wanted to drink.

"Coba," Harry said. "You take this one out and place it near the Old Woman. Draco carry this and set it in front of Remus or between him and your mother."

"What about the one you're carrying?" Draco asked.

"This one goes to the Professor Snape," Harry said. His eyes took on a mischevious glint. "I'm looking forward to his reaction when he realizes that it's just boiling water. I wouldn't want to presume to know what he likes."

Draco chuckled and Coba giggled a bit, leading them back out to the waiting adults.

--

**Author's Note:** Hybrid Animagus idea inspired from "The Founder's Heir" by Renatus. Harry having multiple animagus creatures is inspired by several other stories too, unfortunately I can't recall which ones, there are more then just a few of them, but kudos to all who thought of it.


	10. Adopting a Brat

Disclaimer, Author's Notes, & Warnings: SEE PROLOGUE

Disclaimer, Author's Notes, & Warnings: SEE PROLOGUE

**LEGEND:**

"Normal Talk"

'_Thoughts or Emphasis_'

(...Parseltongue...)

--

Chapter Nine - Adopting a Brat.

--

The boys left the kitchen to join the adults and by the time that everyone had seated themselves around the table, Harry's 24 hour was up. "Finally," he sighed and changed back to his complete human form. There was a slight shift in his height, but then it settled back into his normally short frame. He made sure that his height was a match with Draco. This was one secret that could keep for a bit. In truth he was slightly taller then what the Wizarding World knew about him.

They needed him to be small, vulnerable and needy to the whims of his supposedly trusted mentor, one Albus Dumbledore. Only Remus caught the shift and knew that Harry was hiding something, but since it was not important to the others in the room to know about, so he let it be.

Old Lady Chelsea poured her tea and the pleasant smell of apples and cloves filled the room. "Wonderful," she said.

Narcissa and Remus both reached for the pot between them. Narcissa was faster and had said to Remus, "Ladies first, Wolfman." Remus was stunned at the expression she used, but the boys were giggling at his open mouthed reaction. Severus just smirked, because that's just how the true Narcissa was.

Draco was curious about the clove-apple tea flavour that the old lady had requested, so he helped himself to that. Coba wasn't a tea drinker, in fact he preferred Coca-Cola, so he went to the kitchen to get himself one and returned to join the others, waiting to see what the dark man would do.

"Mister Potter, I hope that this one has normal tea in it," he said pointing to the pot in front of him.

"No sir," Harry said with a smile. "It's just plain hot water. I would never presume to know what flavour of tea you prefer."

Severus just frowned, "If it's not flavoured, then how do you propose to do so now that the water has cool down some."

"The water is spelled at the perfect temperature for seeping any tea ingredients, but I would need to know what your preference is before I could produce anything for you," Harry explained. "I do have the standard tea blends available from Earl Grey to Orange Pekoe to Darjeeling and anything else in between, but if you want a _Special-Tea_ then I would have to test you for your preferences. Also, preferences tend to depend on the time of day."

Severus was surprised, but then noticed that Narcissa and Remus were enjoying their concoction. "What are you two drinking?" He asked curious at their happy expressions.

"It is an orange cinnamon blend," Narcissa began.

"But in our cups were the additional ingredients that altered the tea just for us," Remus continued.

"What ingredients?"

Nacissa said, "In mine there is an additional spice and one extra leaf. The spice is a dash of nutmeg and the leaf is from a strawbapple bush."

"Mine has a whole clove at the bottom of the cup, with two needles from a Pine-nut Tree," Remus explained.

Severus raised a dark eyebrow in the direction of the green-eyed brat. Harry knew then that he would have to explain to his professor about his _Special-Teas_. "It was an idea that I had from a movie that my aunt loved to watch. I don't remember all of it, but there was a box that the leading man had made with different compartment and bottles of plants in it. He was using that to show the leading woman the possible ingredients that could wind up in a bottle of wine depending on the environment surrounding the growing grape plants.

I thought the box was neat and since I had to always make tea for my relatives, I thought it would be neat to build a box like the guy in the film did. Then I remembered another film story around Christmas time that my aunt was talking to her friends about a woman who could determine the correct perfume for a client by a bit of word association and I thought that that was just brilliant.

So I studied different tea ingredients and spices and was able to come up with a simple system of word association for different palates. It's not fool proof though and some combinations are just for some people. That's why Narcissa and Remus had the differing ingredients in their cups, but both had a common base."

Snape looked at Harry and the out right said, "You're terrible in Potions because..."

"Because the teacher hates all things Gryffindor and really _hates_ the bloody Boy-Who-Lived. Plus some Slytherins really have accurate aims and just don't miss the cauldrons. Also, it doesn't help that the method you use to teach is not one that works for me. I can always get a potion correct the second time after I alter some of the notes to match my needs."

Snape was frowning at this and in the meantime, he was being deprived of his tea because he hadn't made a choice. "I'll test your _Special-Tea_ system later, let me have a normal Darjeeling blend." Harry handed over a packet of the blend and allowed the conversation of the others flow around him.

Pretty soon everyone was stuffed and that was when Old Lady Chelsea, changed back into the woman that she truly was. Turns out that she takes a special potion, that wasn't Polyjuice, but something else that made her look truly older.

Coba was startled, but then said, "Now that makes sense."

Narcissa was smiling, the old woman was truly her old friend from school. "I'm glad to see the real you Belle, but why would do that."

The woman's true appearance reverted by to look just about the same age as Narcissa. She pulled her hair out of the tight bun, rubbed the tightness away and spelled her hair into a long braid, tied at the bottom. Her eyes were sad when she turned to speak to Coba.

"My name is Isabelle Manon Duscharme. I work for the Wizarding World's Child Services Department in the Disassociated Youth Section for this country. My job consists of helping the young get off of the streets. Muggle or Wizard it does not matter," she explained. "My job is to help as best I can."

Coba was looking betrayed and yet he understood how she worked better then anyone here. He saw the happiness that some of the youths had gained. There was more to it then that.

"Coba," she called him back to focus on what she had to say. "This house and the contract I work under has a limited number of times that I can call upon the youths of the streets, before they can no longer find me."

Coba's eyes widened. "How many?"

"The limit is thirteen," she said. "After that if the youth does not want to be placed, then they will never be placed. I can't seek them out either. Most children trust my sincerity, but you've always managed to leave before I could explain any of this to you."

"This is my thirteenth time, isn't it," he said looking down. Secretly he was somewhat glad the Harry had forced him to remain or else he would never have found out about his genetics or what he would need in order to actually grow up.

"Yes, it is."

"You want someone here to take over my guardianship because..."

"Well, I really don't like to see you on the streets like any other child, but because of your special heritage I know that it is important for you to have a magical environment to grow up in."

She then explained, how some the cases come to her from the Department and some come from the street kids themselves. She knew on sight that he was a special case because he had been on the street far longer then most other youths. Also, she told him that the reason the previous Old Lady Chelsea didn't call him so often was because she knew that he couldn't be placed, yet.

"The persona of Old Lady Chelsea, began with the first one. She was one remarkable woman and because of her age and grandmotherly ways, the kids loved her. She was also a Seer and that helped her to keep up appearances her in the shop. Any other of us who come here are trained as her granddaughter. Once we're done training we take up the name and the role of Old Lady Chelsea, in honour of her legacy."

Coba had been reflecting on what might have happened when he left, "So if I was able to leave..."

"You would never have found this place again and I would never have been allowed to call you back to me." She said with a sad look on her face. "Magical guardianship in the States is entirely different from the other countries. Which is a very lucky thing for you, Coba. You see guardianship or adoption is governed entirely by the state you live in. In this state you have the choice of your guardians after the age of eight. If you have any magic in you, then it's six. We've long since recognized that street kids are a lot smarter and grounded enough to make their own decisions."

"Remus is that how it works in England?" Harry asked. He was curious to see what the answer would be, wondering if this could have helped get away from his relatives.

"No," he said. "In our country, if there is no magical guardian, then the child is placed in a orphanage. The orphanage depends on whether the child has magic or not, but muggleborns get the short end on that one, because the muggle authorities place them in muggle institutions. Some of which, I am sure you know, are not that good."

Harry nodded his head remembering the history that Tom Riddle had told him. "Who is my magical guardian then? I was placed with the Dursleys without their say so. Something of which they never let me forget."

"I believe that it is Albus Dumbledore," Remus said. "Sirius was to have been it, but he was placed in prison after Peter Pettigrew betrayed your parents. I couldn't take you because I'm a werewolf and the Ministry had just passed a bill that prevents us from even having children, despite the advances in genetic manipulation."

"But the potion...," Severus began.

"Yes, despite your miraculous potion, there was a concern that I would not be able to take it all the time, thus it was considered an unsuitable living environment for the Boy-Who-Lived." He grimaced when he said this, but then so did most of the others at the table.

Harry, however, was fighting to control his temper. He was breathing fast, his eyes were closed as he trying to calm down, his magic levels were increasing and the beads from the wall hangings started to rattle against the walls. That's when everyone turned to him and noticed the state that he was in.

They tried varying vocal methods to get his attention, but in the end Draco followed his instincts and grabbed Harry by the shoulders, turned him around to face him, switched the locations of his hands to Harry's ears and brought Harry's head close to his own. He growled at him saying, "Look at me."

Harry blinked open his eyes and Draco noticed that the green in his eyes were swirling in a lazy agitated stated, matching the turmoil within, but once his eyes were caught in the stormy silver gray of the Dragon's Harry was shocked out of it. He was completely startled when Draco tugged on his ears and planted one solid wonderful kiss on his mouth.

The rattling stopped and Harry regained control quickly. Draco was still kissing him, so Harry own hands, cupped Draco's face and gently pushed him away. Draco opened his eyes and Harry knew that something had changed between them. "We'll talk about this later," Harry said.

"Well that was very effective Draco," his godfather drawled at him. Draco turned beet red and looked at the others in the room sheepishly, but with a small smile on his face. Remus was smirking and his own mother was smiling at him. Isabelle was looking quite pleased.

Coba just shrugged. He didn't care if the boys were gay or not. He always believed that love was love no matter what the form. He's had ample evidence from his observations on the street. "So who did you _See_ would be the ideal ones to take over my guardianship?" He asked, returning to the important part of the conversation.

Belle sighed and said, "It's not any of the adults at this table."

Draco and Harry exchanged glances knowing that it was them, but they're just teenagers. Then Belle explained further that in the US, due to the growing number of teenagers who were having children some of the adoptive laws had changed.

Harry and Draco could effectively adopt anyone in the city, regardless of age (meaning Harry could adopt Snape and Draco could adopt Lupin as their wards), so long as they had two things. One was a clean bill of health which included a fully psychiatric evaluation and that they had financial stability to provide for their '_children_'.

"How could we even be effective parents, if there is the Underage Magical Law that prevents us from protecting _our_ children, in our own country?" Harry asked. He did not want to be charged and removed from school because he needed to cast spells to protect any child he may possibly adopt.

"That's the best part about this arrangement," Belle said. "If you pass the requirements and actually sign the papers adopting guardianship, you immediately become emancipated. Considered a full adult with all of the adult privileges to use magic, no matter the reason for use."

For that alone Harry was tempted, but looking at Coba, he knew that the youth needed to choose on his own without coercion. "I won't force Coba's choice. If I or Draco were to take over his guardianship, then he should be aware of the consequences. I would not be able to do this alone."

"My name alone is tarnished because of Father," Draco said. "I wouldn't be able to do this alone either, but I agree. Coba has to decide on his own. You shouldn't have brought us here and you should have told him all of this before manipulating him into a situation where we seem to be the only good choice."

Harry nodded. He had had enough manipulation to last a lifetime. "Coba, I've released you from the spells binding you to this place."

Belle was shocked, "Why would you do something like that?"

"I've had enough people manipulating my life. There's no way that I would ever coerce Coba into a decision like this. He needs time. Plus there is no guarantee that he would want me or Draco for his guardians. You were wrong in your method to bring this about. He's free to choose."

Coba looked at all the people around the table and he remembered that jealous feeling of wanting to be a part of this family. '_If I let the boys adopt me, I know that I wouldn't be able to get away with much trouble, but then I am awfully tired of being on the streets. Maybe it's time to settle down with people who obviously care about my feeling and thoughts._'

His thoughts were turning and churning and then he knew he would probably accept it, but he needed to know a couple of things. "If choose to be adopted, would I be able to go to school again? Where would I live? Can I move away and live with you guys? Just so you know I don't care if you guys are gay, it doesn't matter to me. What about the Dark Lord in England?..."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Draco said. "Slow down and give us time to answer. One Harry and I aren't a couple, just yet. It's something that we will be talking about later, like Harry said."

"Yes, you'd be able to go to school again," Harry said. "I would never stop someone from wanting to learn. In fact we could probably bring you up to the needs of Hogwarts' first years. I don't care what your physical age is, but you would need to be with us in school."

"You would, also, come with us to finish our vacation and then you'd have to come back to live with us at Malfoy Manor, until things get dangerous there," Draco continued.

"As for the Dark Lord, just ignore the GIT, if you can," Harry said. "Oh, if you read anything in the Wizarding paper called the Daily Profit, take everything that they write with several grains of salt, as they are not always truthful."

"Are they a gossip rag, like the ones we have a the supermarket counters?"

"I know which ones you're talking about and yes it's just like that garbage," Harry said.

"Danger at your Manor?"

"Well, there's nothing to say that something would happen, but seeing as how my father has a top rank in that nasty Git's gang, there is always a chance that he would be broken out of prison."

"There are contingency plans in effect," Narcissa added. "I have emergency getaway plans that Harry is fully aware of and with the aid of a couple of house-elves, they would be able to pop you out before something truly terrible happens."

Harry nodded, but Draco looked confused and asked, "Mother what do you mean?"

She sighed and then explained that her personal house-elf, Pikki, had twins. The twins were not bonded to any witch or wizard, yet. They wanted the choice. It seemed that their father was none other then Dobby and he passed on the quirky gene to "_be wanting paying_".

"That's wonderful," Harry said truthfully.

"What are you on about Potter?" Snape said. "No house-elf should be demanding pay for something that they were bred to do."

"They are creatures that have emotions and thoughts of their own, Professor," he said. "They are thinking creatures and if some of them want freedom or the choice of being paid, then they should be allowed to do so. They are not dogs or cats or pets. They certainly should not be treated as slaves."

"Obviously you feel strongly about this," Remus said. "Is there a reason for that?"

Harry looked down and then said quietly, "I know what it is like to be told you have to do things or risk punishment. I wouldn't wish any such existence on any creature that didn't want it."

"I don't believe you Potter," Snape said.

"That is your right Professor, but know this, everyone lies," Harry said. "Everyone lies at some point in their life to cover up something that they wished they had never done or ever seen or ever said. Everyone lies at some point."

"That's a pretty cynical outlook Potter, are you sure you're a Gryffindor?" The Potions Master asked.

Harry looked the man in the eyes and said, "Come into my mind Professor."

He pulled his professor in through a reverse Legilimens and showed him the life of Harry Potter the Boy-Who-Lived. The starvation for food, for love, affection, even just plain indifference, all of the beatings and the lessons, the coverups and the partial truths that his relatives always told Aunt Marge or others in their neighbourhood. Snape witnessed everything within a couple beats of his heart and then was gently pushed back into his own mind.

The first thing out of his mouth was, "You're a Slytherin." Everyone was shocked by what had transpired, but then the professor continued. "You should consider a re-sort, if you expect to continue protecting my godson. If you adopt this brat, I'm quite sure that he'd be in Slytherin too. You'd need to be there to keep an eye on him, as well."

"We'll discuss that some other time," Harry said, shocking Draco, Lupin and Narcissa with the fact that he might actually consider it.

Snape nodded and turned his attention back the kid, who's future was not yet decided.

Coba looked at the dark eyes and knew that this person had kindness in him, he was just afraid to show it. He looked a Remus and saw the wolf beneath the surface. He thought that was really cool. He then turned to Narcissa, really looking at her and knew that she had different roles to play. The word manor conjured up snobs and high society to him.

Draco fell under that, but there was something more to the teen. Harry was a problem. If he hadn't known better, he could have sworn that the way Harry acted was like someone who had lived without love or affection and he could accept that.

In fact he so wanted to belong with them that he was ready to sign, but if the boys needed to get evaluated, he knew that he would have to wait. "I've watched you guys in the park and the way that you acted with one another. It was like watching a family together." He paused taking a deep breath, becoming a little bit embarrassed and continued, "I would love to be a part of that. I want both of them to take over my guardianship, even if they don't get together. I think that the two balance one another, in some way." He said looking between Harry and Draco.

"All right," Harry said. "I don't mind sharing the guardianship, Draco?"

"I agree that the two of us, should be able to manage, as long as we're allowed to get consultation from our parental figures. Uncle Sev?... Mother?... Professor Lupin?..." he asked.

The adults nodded. It was a decision that all the boys had to make on their own. "Very well," Belle said. "I can perform the evaluations here and now, if you boys are interested."

Harry nodded, the sooner the better. Draco agreed, that way they could plan their vacation to include their _son_. "I'm sure that there are many things to discuss. Harry why don't you go first."

"Sure," he said. "If this works, you know your mother will want to go shopping some more. He's going to need a wizard spaced trunk. I'll need one too, you plan tomorrow's schedule with them."

--

**TBC...**


	11. Shopping then onto RIO

Disclaimer, Author's Notes, & Warnings: SEE PROLOGUE

Disclaimer, Author's Notes, & Warnings: SEE PROLOGUE

**LEGEND:**

"Normal Talk"

'_Thoughts or Emphasis_'

(...Parseltongue...)

--

Chapter Ten - Shopping then Onto to Rio

--

Everything was eventually settled and all the papers were signed. Coba had officially taken on the name Coba Draconus Potter, although his other known name was still Coba Somnus. He explained that if the name Malfoy was seen in a not so good light in the Wizarding World then he wanted to have one that stood for the good, but also wanted a part of his other guardian's name.

Since Draco had accepted his guardianship too, he decided that he needed to be honoured, in some way and Draco didn't mind that at all. He was proud that Coba made that choice, hence allowed the use of his name within the other. The boys knew that it would cause a stir at school, but they didn't care. It would be excellent fun to have people wonder what was going on.

Meanwhile Harry and Draco both passed the psychological examination without a fuss and Harry did provide the needed Gryphon feather for Narcissa to escape from the manor, should it be needful. He gave it directly to Belle when he was getting his fortune done away from the rest of the group. The feather was spelled and dipped into a special potion that would act like a portkey, once Narcissa said the activation words. The feather was then spelled just under the skin of her right shoulder.

Narcissa had decided to shop with Coba for the needed trunks and then went with him to pack up his meager belongings. She also took over shopping with the boy, in order to pick up all essentials that he would need for school, among some other "cool" toys, like a wizarding wireless radio.

Harry had, in fact, given Coba a list of things that he was looking for and the money to pay for everything, including Coba's new stuff because Harry wanted to follow the Potions Master down the Darker Alleys. As he said, "You never what you can find. Besides I sometimes have the most damnable luck and find the strangest things that most times turn out to be very useful."

Severus didn't mind this too much, as long as Harry kept up and did nothing to bother his transactions. Harry only said that they had to stop in the shops he wanted to have a look through and not to worry that they would be Quidditch stores. He only wanted to visit antiquarians, pawns shops and some knick-knack shops that may contain more books for his growing thirst of knowledge.

Remus and Draco had branched out together, as our young Dragon explained his veterinary interests and how he wanted to pick up some muggle emergency medical supplies and any books on battle field medicine. It didn't matter if they were new or old because Harry had promised to perform the Photographic memory spell on him and Coba.

They were both looking forward to it, as it would increase their memory retention. Harry did caution them about self updating wizarding books and wizarding pictures. If any pages were updated, there was the possibility that whatever information was on a page, say page 297, that data could be altered over time or moved to another page due to how the books updated themselves.

Curious, Remus had asked, "Isn't there a way around that?"

"Well," Harry began. "It depends entirely on what it is you're looking for or how good the information is. I've used a modified copying spell that I've found to copy the pertinent information or the page that has the information I need. Then I insert it into a blank book or journal and make a few notes of where the information came from and how it's related to my needs. The journals aren't self updating therefore the information can be retained from _them_."

Draco smiled at Harry brilliance. He couldn't wait to have that spell performed. Harry even promised to help him with his own Animagus transformations.

Coba just wanted to have an advantage in school, especially since he was starting out so late. Well, so late for him. Draco cajoled his godfather into writing to the Deputy Headmistress in order to add _Coba Somnus_ to the school lists.

It seems that he was already added to the lists for the following year, but an exception could be made if he was tested for this coming year. Since Professor Snape and Professor Lupin were both available they tested Coba's abilities and sent the results with the request.

Harry knew he wanted to be re-sorted and that to be re-sorted needed permission from a Head of House and ideally from his potentially new Head at that. He discussed this with Professor Snape during their excursion and Severus had agreed to inform Harry's former Head about the request. Harry's arguments were sound, besides he did want to do the Gryffindor thing and protect his new _family_.

--

In one of the shops that Harry managed to stop in, that was where he found his treasure and a rare one too. Making sure that the shop keeper was not looking at him, but at the others in the shop, Harry kneeled to look at a couple of books on the lowers shelves, in the far hidden corner of the store.

The fours books on this shelf were packaged in together one bundle and labeled '_Foreign: Unknown Language_'. Harry was surprised at that because he could read the titles, but it was obvious that the owner of the shop couldn't read them. Then Harry had paused, he didn't know any foreign languages, with one exception, but that wasn't a foreign language. Then again it could be considered as one since Parseltongue could only be understood by a select few.

He looked at the bundle and picked it up to look at the titles. "Alchemy, Potions, and an Amalgamation of Known Formulas from 325 B.C. to 1067 A.D., compiled by Salazar Slytherin", "Potion Journal and Complete Ingredient History, compiled by Salazar Slytherin", "Person Journal, by S.S." and finally, "Our Scholastic Beginnings, compiled by Salazar Slytherin." Harry was ecstatic. This was something that no one could ever have known about. Maybe Salazar's offspring had these and traveled, but to wind up here, yeah Harry did have some kind of luck.

He was looking the book called "Potion Journal...", when something slipped out of it. It was a very smallish painting with only the head and part of the upper body. He recalled that in the past it was common to have cameos made of loved ones to carry about, but he didn't know if the Wizarding world had the equivalent of that. Sure looked like it, because the man in the picture looked up at him and grimaced.

(...Great, another curious kid, who'll probably steal this picture...) the man said. (...I hope that this time the magic will return me to another book like the alchemy one...)

(...Pardon me, but are you Salazar Slytherin?...) Harry asked. The man in the picture looked startled. No one had ever been able to understand him before. He took another look at the youth and despite being a tiny portrait, he could see the contained magical power that the boy had. He nodded his head. (...This is great. I never thought that I would find anything like this here...) Harry said, happily.

(...Since you clearly know where you are, would mind me telling me...) Salazar asked. (...I have not been able to speak to anyone in a very long time...)

(...Why not?...)

(...This cameo was spelled to only speak Parseltongue until a new owner could be found for these books and then I would be able to talk normally, but only after all the other cameos come together in the book called "_Our Scholatic Beginnings_"...)

(...Oh...) Harry said. (...Your books are located in a magical Antique shop, down one of the Dark Alleys in the city of New Orleans. It's a city, in what you probably knew as the '_New World_', which is called the United States of America now...)

Salazar didn't look pleased at that. (...Bloody, little brat…obnoxious git. I told him we shouldn't have left the old country, bet he got killed instantly...) and on and on he muttered. Harry figured it was one of Salazar's descendents he was muttering about.

Salazar then looked at Harry and asked (...Are there other cameos around these books?...)

Harry opened each book and found that three other cameos were used as bookmarks. Smiling, he showed them to Salazar. (...Are these the ones?...)

Salazar smiled back and said yes. Then he instructed Harry to return to their proper places in the book called "_Our Scholastic Beginnings_". Inside the front cover there were four slots, one for each Cameo to fit into. Once they were placed in the proper hole, the little pictures of the others began to wake up.

Harry glanced up as a shadow fell over him. He was currently sitting cross-legged on the dusty floor of the shop, looking up he saw that the Professor was waiting for him. Harry smiled, stood up and rewrapped the four books, silently hissing to Salazar that he was going to buy the books and talk to them later.

Walking up to the counter with his purchase, the man behind looked down at him, wondering whether to bargain with the kid or just let him have the fool things, since no one had ever wanted them before. Shrugging he said, "5 galleons."

Harry didn't even bother bargaining, these books were a steal and there was no way that he'd let the man know that he could read them. Severus didn't say a word, but just lead them out of the store. "I hope that those were worth it Potter, there's no way that you could even read those. I can't even tell you what language to start researching for it."

Harry just shrugged at that and said, "I'm done now Professor. I don't think that I could top any other find here. Let's go the apothecaries for you now. To make up for the delay, I'll treat you to whatever ingredient you could possibly want. Just one though."

Severus smirked, thinking of one of the most expensive, but then knew that he would much rather get the rare one that he was looking for and there was a rumor that one of the shops in this alley had it. He stalked off, leaving Harry to follow him at a quickened pace, but Harry didn't mind. He had picked up his own set of wheels, like Coba and had the boy alter them just like his own.

In every shop that they entered Harry pulled out the Salazar cameo and let him see the available ingredients of the shops. Salazar kept a running commentary in lengthy hisses and Harry just listened to him. He obviously loved potions just like Professor Snape.

Speaking of which, he glanced at the man and found him to be excited? Yes, it looked like the Professor had finally found what he was looking for. Taking a look at the jar of blackened metallic powder, it looked like ground onyx. Harry walked up to the counter and reread the label. Salazar was hissing at him.

"Sir," Harry said. "I don't think that that is what you're looking for."

Severus knew that Harry had instincts and luck, but to defy him like this... He looked closer and only saw the boy's concern. "What do you mean?" he asked rather harshly, instead of demanding or putting him down.

"This is powdered snake venom, but it's tainted," Harry said.

"How could a mere child know that?" The man behind the counter sneered.

Harry just looked grim faced and serious, "Snake venom of any kind comes from the animal in a clear liquid. The powdered forms vary in colour based on the snake type and the strength of the venom itself. There has never been black powder from any snake venom. The venom colour of all snakes ranges from white through a pale spectrum of rainbow colours and only the oldest and strongest snakes can produce venom that once properly dehydrated becomes a powdered metallic colour, but never black." He sneered back at the man and said, "I don't think it's right for you to swindle your customers in this fashion."

Severus frowned at the man, who had been trying to take advantage of him. However the man himself was scowling at the jar. He had paid good money for this. "I have been in this business for years and I have gained a good reputation of procuring the needed ingredients. Never once has something not been what I requested." He looked at Harry and continued, "Since I have never had Basilisk venom in any form, I assumed that this was the correct stuff."

"I will not deny the metallic sheen denotes a very old, very powerful, magical snake," Harry began. "However, I would question the quality of it. The older the Basilisk the more like pure silver the venom would look, either in powdered or liquid form. This came from either a sick animal or the venom itself was messed with before dehydration."

Severus was upset about it, but then thought he could perhaps test it out and figure out what was wrong with it. Besides they were traveling to Rio the next day and that was where a great snake was rumored to be. Glancing at Potter, he realized that he had someone who could speak Parseltongue and could probably gain information from the snakes around the city. Harry looked back at him and smirked, as though he knew what the Professor was going to ask him.

"Well obviously the integrity of this is in question," Severus began. "I am a Potions Master, after all. Perhaps I should buy some of this in order to conduct tests on it."

The man behind the counter realized that they could still bargain, but that he would still have to take a large loss in profit due to the fact that it really was tainted and the other customers will have overheard them. Worse these two looked like they knew the truth. Eventually the price was reduced enough that even Severus could pay, but he looked at Harry who just nodded and accepted that this was what the professor wanted him to pay for.

"Out of curiosity," Harry began, addressing the man, after he had finished paying for the tainted ingredient. "How much would you pay for a clean sample of true Basilisk venom?"

"Depending on the age and the purity, as long as an experienced Potions Master could certify and process it, then the range would be from 250 galleons to 600 galleons per ounce. Younger snake powders sell for less, but if you had one that was over a few centuries then you could make your fortune." The man explained. He really loved working in this field and he was not stupid by any means. He could see that the youth had a calculating mind and would probably able to obtain the true venom that his Potions Master needed.

"How many ounces do you have remaining here?"

"37"

Harry nodded, "If I were to get you the same amount in _pure_ powdered Basilisk venom, would you agree to ship any ingredient that the Potions Master here could possibly want from the New World to our school for the equivalent price?"

The man's eyes widened and turned greedy. "How could you possibly ensure the safety for the ingredients in transit? Such arrangements will cost, you know."

"Don't worry, if I can, I'll send you the ingredient and have the others returned to us by the same method." Harry said. "However I should ask first... Professor, do you think that you would be requiring any other ingredients from this shop, in the near future?"

Severus actually looked around the shop for a more thorough review of its contents. Most shops he just gave a cursory glance and noted the differences. This time he quickly walked up and down the aisles and noted a few of the rarer items. Although some items would never be displayed, like the powdered Basilisk venom, which the man fetched from the room behind his counter.

"There are some here, but I'm sure that the more interesting items are not part of this room," Severus said.

Harry then looked at the man. The man then became convinced that this youth might have access to one of the great beasts. Harry quirked an eyebrow and the man provided a full list of the _hidden _ingredients that he tended to carry at any given time. Depending, of course, on the time of year and whether authorities raided his shop or not. It was a list that was self-updating and he only gave it out to the few he felt could be trusted. These two could be trusted, but it would greatly help if they signed a contract to that effect.

Harry saw the list and Severus was very pleased with it. He then looked pointedly at Harry who nodded and produced a standard contract form that the two of them had devised before venturing into the alley. It was part of the readings that Belle Duscharme had done for each of them.

The contract had standard lines and then a section to be filled by the conditions that were agreed upon. The conditions were in this case:

'_In a fair exchange of 37 ounces of pure powdered Basilisk venom, the undersigned...(shopkeeper), would agree that payment in the form of the ingredients, from the list provided that is currently in the hands of the Potions Master (Snape), who will be witness to this contract, shall be shipped without question, by or with the emissary provided by the undersigned...provider of the venom (Harry), and in the quantities specified for this one specific transaction. Any future transaction past this contract will be conducted in person._'

"Should you suddenly change this list..." Harry began.

"It is a self-updating list tied to the shop, Harry," Severus said. "The only way for this to become invalid is for this shop to go out of business or for him to suddenly die."

Harry nodded, too stunned that the Professor had addressed him by his first name. "Let's go join the others, now." The Professor said, pocketing his purchase and steering Harry out of the door.

--

Draco was getting a little nervous as the day wore on. Harry was alone with his godfather and that man just did not like Harry. It had been interesting to change their plans in such a way that everyone had the chance to actually get everything that they needed, more specifically what they really wanted.

Remus was surprised when Draco told him that his actually future plans involved _Care of Magical Creatures___and the study of _Magical Veterinary Medicine_. It was nothing to the shocked expression that Severus had. That one expression had the entire group in laughter.

"Did you think that my extra studies were in potions or in some of the more obscure Dark Arts?" Draco had asked.

"Your mother said that it was extra courses in the Dark Arts. Mostly theoretical studies," he explained still surprised by the truth. "But this suits you somehow. I just never knew."

Draco smiled remembering that night. He smiled even more remembering the _talk_ that he and Harry had about becoming a potential couple. They talked quite a bit about all the implications and possible scenarios that would occur in the school and Wizarding world, once they discovered that their _Hero_ was a pouf and was involved with a Death Eater offspring.

--

It was Coba that put everything in perspective for them. "You shouldn't care what others think. If your friends believe in you and care about you then it shouldn't matter who you're involved with. What you two should really be discussing is how this will affect me?"

That caused both teens to chuckle. They discussed many things regarding family, upbringing and they both considered Coba's input for the whole situation. "You guys decided to become my guardians and I signed my choice, therefore it means that I am putting my trust in you both to do right by me."

"We will do the very best that we can," Harry said. He then told them some stuff about his upbringing, proving to Coba that he actually knew what false tears were and that he would not put up with that. Draco himself explained about his own upbringing and how it might be difficult to alter some of his attitude, but he was trying.

"There will be times that we will be seeking the advice of Uncle Sev or Remus and there will be times that we will make a decision that you may not like," Draco began. "It's all part of being in a family that cares. I can't rightly tell you that I love you like a son, you seem too old for that, but those feelings may come in time, if you happen to act your physical age and I may just call you that one day."

"True," Harry said. "We are virtually strangers to you and you are one to us. We will make mistakes from time to time, but I think that if we continue like we've begun by discussing things like this we will be just fine. I know that my feelings are a match to Drake's right now. I can see myself learning to love you like a son and calling you that in the future, especially if you turn out to be a bratty kid."

"I understand. I may develop those feelings too, in time, but just so that you two know," Coba said. "I have been around for nearly 85 years. So that means that I have seen quite a few things and I don't know if I would ever call you guys Father or Dad or whatever. Of course, there will be times that we will be playing a part together should we ever need to and it will happen that I will have to call you such.

Now about you two, relationship-wise, I do know that the two of you do balance one another. Should you pursue your potential relationship, then I will back up both of you, but should you two decide that it just won't work... Well, I hope that you'll at least remain on decent speaking turns, at least until I finish school."

Draco blushed at the mention of being together with Harry. Harry was thoughtfully considering the wise words that Coba had presented to them. "You really see nothing wrong with two guys, involved with one another?" Harry had to know.

He had grown up with the most anal muggles ever. That did not mean that Harry agreed with their teachings, such as they were. He did notice the people and couples around him. He remembered seeing two elderly men walking down the street one day, holding hands. Many people saw the same thing, but never said a word.

There were many that looked at them and smiled, while others had very neutral expressions. There was a few around them that frowned, but his uncle was livid and had dragged his family, including Harry, away from that place, never to go back on the off chance of seeing that unnatural public display.

Draco had frowned at Harry's question, but noticed that Harry was thinking on something. "Harry..." he began.

Coba was also thinking about a few things that he had seen and knew that he would try his best to answer honestly, "I see nothing wrong in any two people coming together because they feel strongly for one another. I have seen so called "_normal_" relationships work and I have seen them fail too. I would rather be happy and in love with the person I want rather than put up with the restrictions of "_proper_" relations. I would rather see you with the person you want to be with rather than see you settle for less."

Harry was overwhelmed by the honesty of the answer and could only give a choked "Thank you."

After that Coba went to sleep in Harry's bed at the hotel, while Harry and Draco spent some of the night talking and getting to know one another on Draco's bed.

Harry had decided to give his bed to Coba for their remaining stay in New Orleans, while he shared the Dragon's bed, as Noiro. Draco didn't really want that, but as they were not prepared to share personal space quite yet, as two humans, it was a very acceptable solution for the remainder of their trip.

--

"Draco," Remus said. "You're pacing."

Draco paused in his to and fro, looked at the others in the room having tea and said, "It's getting late and those alleys are evil at night. I'm worried about Harry."

"I know you are son," his mother said. "But Noiro's with Severus. Nothing will harm them."

"That's what I'm worried about," Draco said. "Uncle Sev doesn't like Harry. On second thought, he doesn't know Harry, but he h_ates_ Potter. I don't want Harry's feelings to be hurt by the way Uncle Sev is, so of course I'm worried."

"He's your Uncle?" Coba asked.

"Actually he's my godfather," Draco explained. "I call him Uncle because he feels like an uncle to me. I can't count on the ones that actually are my true uncles, there followers of the Git."

"That makes sense," Coba said. "Harry told me that you're a godfather figure in his life. Does he call you Uncle too?"

Remus smiled sadly, "No he doesn't. I only saw him a few times before his parents died. They were trying to get him to call me Uncle Remmy, but he only managed..." he coughed, a little embarrassed. " He only managed... Emmy. He couldn't pronounce any R sounds and didn't even replace it with a W like some children did. Sirius' name was shortened to Siri, but Harry only said Zi'i, no R sounds."

Everyone was laughing at that when their wayward companions walked into the room. Draco was so happy to see Harry that he went up to him and hugged him in greeting. Harry was secretly pleased at that and gave a return squeeze.

Remus was just as glad and wished that he could do the same to the snarky Potions Master. Instead he just looked him in the eye and smiled his pleasure at seeing him again. Severus returned a similar look with a quirky half smile, also secretly please that someone was concerned about him.

"What kept you guys for so long?" Narcissa asked with her own concern.

"It took a little longer to find the ingredients that I was looking for," Severus began. "It was even harder still following a rumor to find the place where I could find one in particular."

Harry nodded and then said, "Thankfully I had these on," he pointed to the wheelies. "They were helpful in allowing me to keep up with the long legged pace he set."

Severus just scowled briefly at him, to which he got a cheeky grin in return. He then turned thoughtful and decided that now was as good a time as any to get some answers. "How did you know that the last ingredient was tainted?"

Harry settled down at the table and just pulled out the cameo of Salazar from his coat pocket and showed it to the Potions Master. "He told me."

Snape took a hold of the cameo and stared at it. He was staring at so much that he didn't register that it was hissing at him. The others were startled, but then Harry took the cameo back, pulled out the four books that he had purchased.

Harry then smirked at the Potions Master, opened up the book called "Our Scholastic Beginnings" and inserted the cameo into the only empty slot. Turning the book around, showing all four cameos to everyone, he asked, "Do you recognize them, Professor?"

Remus and Severus leaned close to look at the pictures better. "Impossible," Snape said.

"How…" Remus began to ask.

Harry then explained that the foreign language was not foreign to him. He explained that he only saw English writing and that he didn't see another language. He also told them how the books came to be in the New World and how Salazar speculated that the books were lost or stolen when his descendent had probably died.

They talked a bit into the night and were almost prepared to travel onto their next destination. There was only one thing left to do, but Harry fought that. Again Draco explained that to travel onto anywhere new, Noiro needed his flea bath.

Harry complained and said that he was supposed to be traveling as a human from now on, but the hotel registered the physical presence of Noiro and Harry could not be a part of the group leaving unless he was Noiro.

Still he didn't want the flea bath, but put up with it only to fall asleep with the comforting thought that turn about is fair play. Once Draco had his animagus form, Harry would take the pleasure in giving him his own itchy flea bath.

--

**TBC…**


	12. One Last Adventure, then Homeward Bound

Disclaimer, Author's Notes, & Warnings: SEE PROLOGUE

Disclaimer, Author's Notes, & Warnings: SEE PROLOGUE

**LEGEND:**

"Normal Talk"

'_Thoughts or Emphasis_'

(...Parseltongue...)

--

Chapter Eleven - One Last Adventure & Then Homeward Bound

--

Only three days of their vacation remains and our happy little family is now in Rio de Janeiro. They were taking in the historical sites and fortunately for them there were a couple of street festivals that they could take part in. There was even a small carnival on the outskirts of town, where Gypsies set up and told fortunes, entertained the tourists.

No one in our happy little family was interested in that, as the fortune tellers were muggle and mainly scam artists, but they did enjoy the little shows that popped up. There were mini plays and skits. There were buskers, which Harry loved with their juggling feats and muggle magicians that did tricks to amuse the populace. There were street vendors even in the magical alleys there were wandering troups of gypsies that sold all manners of old style magics and protections. This was what Draco was looking for and he bought a few items to study, hopefully they will help protect his mother, Harry and Coba.

The family separated from time to time into different groupings based on their interests and this was when Harry's luck struck again, but not in a good way this time. It was nearing nighttime and he was walking along with Severus and Remus for company when he was suddenly accosted by an old foul street gypsy woman. The gypsy was nearly completely mad, cackling here and there at nothing. She reminded Harry somewhat of Bellatrix Lestrange.

She muttered at the three of them saying, "Family, yes, yes, yes. Must always stand together, yes, that's right."

They tried to get around her and walk away, but she kept getting in front of them and wouldn't let them leave in peace. "Family must have snake fortune done, yes. Snake fortune for family."

"And pray… tell us what you think a snake fortune is?" Severus asked, looking down his nose at the old woman.

The description of the fortune had them horrified. Harry was nauseous. It turns out that the little ritual of a snake fortune involved slitting a sacrificial snake from belly to tail and then '_reading_' its deaths throws or convulsions.

The old woman then proceeded to do just that. Harry cried out, "NO!"

But was too late as the poor snake was now twisting and convulsing. The little thing was hissing his tortured death cries for the gypsy to interpret.

Unfortunately Harry understood the words it cried out from the pain, (…Free them…Free my family…) A twist and screaming hiss followed, (…My family will aid you to free the King… Please help them…) Curling one last time with a final choked hiss.

The old gypsy hag looked at them and calmly said, "10 Real for the reading. I tell family fortune, yes, yes, but they must be paying, yes, yes, yes. 10 Real." She held out a stained palm expecting money.

There were tears in Harry's eyes, but when she asked for money his eyes began to flash in anger and he growled out, "How much for all of your snakes?"

"Not for sale," she says.

"How much for all of your snakes?" Harry demanded once more.

"Stubborn child must pay for the reading," she cackles to herself. "Must be paying 10 Real, must, must, must." She continued muttering to herself.

Pissed off Harry glanced around quickly and then morphed into his half-cat form, luckily it was by choice so he could keep his height. His ears and tail sprouted, his eyes started glowing in the near dark and his teeth and nails lengthened. "How much for all of your snakes?" he growled looking very much like a demon, hissing his displeasure at the old woman.

Remus and Severus just watched the confrontation happening in front of them. They seemed to have silently agreed to allow Harry to handle himself in this case, but they would remain by his side just in case.

The old woman's eyes glinted with her insanity. She grinned at them, showing her few yellowing and blackened teeth. She snarled back at Harry. "Pay for your fortune, Boy. You must be paying the price for the reading. I special. Only I knows what the snakies say. Only I knows." She held out her hand once more.

(…Do you?...) hissed Harry. (…Do you really?...)

(…Bady boy…) she hissed back. (…Sneaky, sneaky… Bady boy, knowing snake speak…) Her head was swinging back and forth, wondering if it was true. (…Lying boy, not know snake speak… Can't let him see King… Boy must be paying… Let him have the littles, yes, yes, yes. The littles he can have…)

(…Your demise rests with the snakes you covet…) Harry hissing lowly, predicting her future. "I want all of your snakes. NOW!"

"500 Real," she says.

"200", Harry counters

"450"

"275"

"400"

"325"

"Deal," she says.

"Done," he replies.

Then she smirks at him and says, "Each."

Harry was pissed off at the old hag. He then Accioed all the snakes away from her, letting Remus and Severus catch them all. They were prepared for it and there were only six snakes of different families.

She glowers at him and says, "Bady boy, you had better pay my price. You be better be paying."

He changes back to himself and smirks at the woman. "Of course," he says, pausing for effect. "After you lead us to King."

She blanches and screeches, "NO, NO, NO, no deal. No bady boy, no deal."

Harry then does something completely Slytherin. He pulled out a very shiny gold galleon and played with it. He flipped it through his fingers back and forth.

The old woman's puss filled cloudy eyes grew huge, knowing gold when she saw it. Once she's seen it, she's greedy for it. Harry could read that about her. The snakes that were freed were hissing at him, telling him about the old hag. The snakes had wrapped themselves around the necks and arms of his Professors, but they were hissing to him about the old woman. The things that they were saying were going to give him nightmares.

Apparently, she was once a witch, but lost her magic during a battle a long time ago. She was truly Dark. She was from a very old school of the Dark Magics, in every evil sense. She was almost a perfect match for Voldemort, except that he would have been wetting his drawers, if he had ever encountered her when she was at full power.

The snakes told Harry that she was a cannibal. She had stolen babies and children from the streets and their homes in order to feast on the young flesh. She had arranged tortures and murders and played with pestilence for fun. She was also a black widow, eating the hearts of the men she had just married and disposing of their bodies to the great snake that she called King.

Harry was relaying that information to his Professors, in a low voice, while the woman was engaged in watching the gold coin flip through his agile young fingers. She was muttering all the while too, about how she would lead them, but then trick them into a trap.

Severus may be a Death Eater, he may have seen and done despicable things in his life in order to maintain his position as a spy, but from everything that he was learning about the old woman, he was truly horrified and disgusted.

Remus being classified as a Dark creature was familiar with some of the Darkness that existed in the world and had '_seen_' things that he wished he'd never have to witness again. He knew that somehow this woman was going to die and if Harry was going to be the cause, Remus would say nothing against it. He was going to support Harry in any decision he wants to make. It was the least that he could do for the young man, whose presence made him feel like he had part of his pack once more.

(...Take me to King...) he hissed, now flicking two gleamming galleons between his fingers.

"Bady boy," she says. "Proof that they not false. Proof to me that goldy gold is true." She was still mesmerized by the shine of the gold rolling through Harry's fingers.

"Sure," he says. Taking one coin he snaps it in half and tossed half of it in her direction. Not worried that she would miss catching it.

It was instantly snatched from the air by a filthy and gnarled hand. She immediately tested it by biting it. Grinning evilly, she turns around and gestures to the men to follow her. She lead them on a merry chase through the seediest part of the town, hoping that the cutthroats in the shadows would take out her followers. However her plans were thwarted because Harry was once again in his half cat form, Remus was growling at the shadows with his amber eyes glinting in the darkness and Severus was glaring, baring his own teeth looking every bit Dark and dangerous.

She looked back and they were still following her without trouble. She was still muttering, leading them further out of town and into the countryside. Finally realizing that she didn't have chance to lose them, she lead them to an abandoned looking farmstead. Guiding them to the well on the property, she points down into its darkness.

Harry goes to the opposite side of the well, away from her, and peers in cocking his head to one side to listen to the noise. Unfortunately, Severus and Remus walked into a trap, gluing their feet to the ground, their surprised sounds made Harry turn in their direction. The old gypsy hag was very quick on her feet and she ran up behind Harry and shoved him into the well.

He tumbled down the dark tunnel, which curved slightly, almost cushioning his landing. Harry remembered the events from the Chamber of Secrets and most of all the smells. The smells here were the same and yet there was a sickness in that smell too. Worse, he cast a dim lumos to light up the area and it was not rat skulls and bones that he was standing in, but those of humans.

Grabbing his Gryffindor courage, he hissed into the tunnel in front of him. (...Anyone there...) he paused, waiting. (...I'm not here to harm you...) he said, changing his ears into that of another cat, something that could hear from a distance. (...I'm here to release you...)

(...Lies...) a deep voice hissed from nearby. (...Old woman, do not tell me lies...)

Harry crept cautiously towards the hissing sound with his eyes closed. (...It's not a lie...) he replied. (...I am not the old woman. That bitch pushed me into the well...)

(...Very smart, not to be looking at us in the eyes...) It hissed really close to him. It tasted the air around him with his tongue. (...You are not female, yet I can taste your fear...)

(...Fear is healthy in humans...) Harry said. (...It helps us to grow, when we overcome them...)

(...Wise...)

Since Harry's eyes were closed he was listening with his ears for any sound that will help to determine what he needed to do to help this creature. He could make out various sounds like the dripping of water and the scuttling of the smaller underground creatures. That's when he heard a sound that was not made naturally. It was the clink of a very large chain nearby. (...Are you imprisoned?...)

(...Yes...) the large creature hissed, while watching Harry move around. He could have attacked him at any given time, but there was something like hope in the large creature because Harry was able to talk to him without any crazy mutterings like the old woman. (...I have not been able to leave this tunnel in years...)

(...Perhaps I can help...) Harry said, waiting for the great snake to think on it.

(...If you can. We want to be able to leave this place, but we can not move away...)

(...Please close your eyes...) Harry requested. (...I need to see what it is that is holding you here...) The great snake hissed his acceptance and closed his eyes, waiting to see what the young human could do.

Harry cracked one eye open, hoping that he would be able to see something and not get petrified or worse killed. Through the darkness there was a glow on the walls. His gaze followed the long dark body down to the end and there he noticed it.

It was a metal ring that had been pierced through the at least two feet of tail end of the snake. There was a length of chain several feet long attached to the ring preventing the snake from moving past that length. Obviously it was spelled to remain on or else the Basilisk would have just torn his tail in two to escape this situation like some trapped animals do chewing through the own paws for freedom.

Since that was not the case here, Harry needed to examine the links a lot more closely before deciding on the spells to release it. (...I need to get closer to it...) he said. (...There are two other males traveling with me and they may find their way down here, but they are not speakers. I ask that you leave them be should they appear...)

(...If you believe that you can free us...) the snaked hissed. Harry hissed an affirmative sound, walking towards the back end of the long snake. He spent some time examining the links and the chains, when he heard his professors walking towards them.

"Remus, Professor Snape," Harry said. "Please stop walking and stay where you are. I am fine, but I don't want you alarming King."

The professors were startled and then relieved that Harry sounded just fine. "Are you OK?"

"Potter, you're not hurt?"

"I'm perfectly fine, but please stay where you are. King is a Basilisk and I'm trying to figure out a way to free him without harming him."

"As long as you fine, Harry," Remus said.

"Tell him that the old woman is dead, if that will comfort him," Snape said.

The two men heard hissing sounds and then Harry asked, "How did she die?" The two teachers then said that once they were free of the trap, the snakes that Harry had saved slithered after her. Seems that she's been taking quite a few from the forests and killing them over the years and they had decided her punishment.

Three of the six were magical snakes and the one that she killed for their fortune was the leader of those three. Because she killed their leader they agreed to kill her off and since their poison had varying effects, she did not die peacefully. That was what the professors could interpret from the way that the snakes were hissing.

"Did you let the snakes go?" They heard him ask, while hearing another kind of hissing that was not associated with snakes.

"Yes, although two of the magical ones and one of the non-magical are with us now," Severus said. They heard the drop of a metal link.

(...That's one half...) Harry said, beginning on the other half of the metal ring. It was a good thing that the Basilisk agreed to have his tail immobilized because Harry was using a sort of welding spell to cut the ring at the edge of the tail.

He then said a spell that cooled the metal and grew the skin over it. Doing this on both sides would allow the Basilisk to be free, but that small bit of metal would remain in his tail for the rest of his life. Harry was also able to cast an infection prevention spell, in order to protect the snake from lead poisoning.

The snake was impressed, his tail still felt a little heavy, but it did not feel as though there was anything holding him in place. Since Harry was able to help him to freedom, he decided to ask for another favour. (...There is something I wish for you to help with...) it began. (...I need you to remove my fangs and venom sacs...)

Harry was stunned at the request and asked, (...Why?...)

(...The old woman did something to them when she was younger and had power...) King explained. (...The venom is painful to me every time I bite anything and release it. They need to be removed so that I may live a life without pain...)

Harry thought on that and then said, (...I will need the help of my friends, who are waiting patiently in the tunnels. We may have to drain them first, to empty the sacs and then we would have to surgically remove them. I would need their strength in order to numb the areas that require the surgery...)

King thought on that and agreed. He had Harry seal his eyes temporarily shut so that King could not open them and accidentally kill them. Then he had Harry numb the fangs too before numbing his mouth and immobilizing it open.

"Professor Snape, Remus," Harry said. "I'm going to need you assistance. You can come forward now."

They started walking towards Harry and when they rounded the corner they were met with a huge open mouth belonging to the largest snake that they had ever seen. "Please Professor Snape. I need your help to drain the venom out and then we have to remove the fangs and the sacs."

"Why?" Remus asked.

"Because that gypsy hag did something to him when she was younger and had full use of her magics. Ever since he's been in pain from producing, secreting and biting with the use his venom," Harry explained. "Remus I need your eyes to look out for any twitches of his head or mouth. If there's even a tiny shift, spell his eyes shut and immoblize his head so that we may do as he asked. Professor Snape I need your help to drain the venom."

"Potter, I think that you've just may have found out where the tainted sample came from," Severus said.

"You think?" Harry asked cheekily. "We don't have time to waste. Narcissa, Coba and Draco are going to be worried about us. King wants to be free of everything that the old woman did."

"He'll survive without the use of the venom or fangs," Remus observed. "It's a good thing that your luck is the way it is, eh, Harry?"

Harry just turned and smiled at his honorary godfather. Professor Snape then took over and proceeded to teach Harry how to drain the venom straight from the teeth. Since the liquid was tainted too, Snape kept a bit for study, but immediately Vanished the rest. He had, Harry, the brave Gryffindor step into the creature's immobilized mouth and had him push all of the excess venom out, while he pushed from the outside.

Running a few diagnostic spells on the outside of the snake did not yield much information, but from within the mouth Snape was able to locate the precise area of the venom sacs. He then showed Harry the cutting and cauterizing spells needed to extract the affected tissues. It took a while to complete the entire process and Remus had to recast the spells from time to time.

Soon the fangs were removed and Snape performed the final healing spells, while Harry cast the anti-infection ones. Stepping out of the creature's mouth, Harry said, "Close your eyes professors."

Both did so without hesitation. Harry released the great beast from the spells that he was under. (...How do you feel?...) he asked it.

(...I feel like I have no pain...)

(...Right now your mouth is still a bit numb, but there will be some discomfort for a little while until everything heals properly...) Harry explained.

The Basilisk didn't care about that the only thing left was to leave the tunnels, which was what he said to Harry. Harry told him that they came down a well further up the tunnel and that he thought the opening should be big enough for the snake to get out of.

(...Thanks...) The great snake hissed. (...I'm leaving and going into the jungles, inland. There are some things that may interest you further down past the chain, as the old woman hoarded many things in these tunnels...) It hissed his gift. The men moved aside and let it slither away. Harry told the other two about the possible stuff at the end of the tunnels.

The men figured it wouldn't hurt to have a look, as they were sure that if anything they found was tainted then they would have to get rid of them in order to prevent another like her from accessing such works.

Remus performed a Mapping spell that lit the tunnels and allowed them to see the number of possible crooks and crannies. It also showed potential chambers based on an approximation logarithm; luckily there were only a few of those. It took a couple of hours, but the were able to find all the hidden chambers thanks to Harry's Parseltongue abilities.

They had stumbled onto the old woman's ingredient storage and noticed that she hadn't been in that room for a very long time. Snape wanted all of them and was at a loss on how to carry them all, when Harry removed his snitch bell from the chain around his neck and changed the entire thing back into his old school trunk.

It was empty, as he got a new properly wizard-spaced one from Narcissa with mutli-compartments. So they could use his altered old one for this. Snape was at loss for words, but then conjured the necessary cushioning materials, in order to prevent the jars and vials from clinking against one another and possibly breaking.

There were many ingredients in here that he already had, so he only took the ones he didn't and the ones that were very rare or hard to find. There were a few that he would've regretted leaving behind, not because they were rare or hard to find, but because they were expensive. However, Remus pulled out a sack that altered its appearance to his needs. In this it became another trunk, with a compartment for Remus' belongings, but a second compartment appeared for Snape to use.

Severus was overwhelmed that the werewolf would offer up personal space for him. He was at a loss on how to react. Harry just turned his back with shooing motions at Remus and began packing up the second space.

Remus approached the Potions Master and was surprised when the dark man practically launched himself at him, pulling him into a solid hug. Remus wrapped his arms around the taller man and just tightened his grip. "Thank you," Severus said, near the sensitive ear. He then did something out of character and kissed the side of the neck to further prove his appreciation.

Remus sucked in a breath and then let his hands move up to cup the lean face. He looked into the dark eyes of the Potions Master and saw the gratitude, but he also saw another emotion that was flickering in the darkened depths. He smiled and then gently pecked the other man on that thin mouth, tasting it briefly with a flick of his tongue. "Later," he said smiling at him.

Severus gave his quirky half smile and nodded. When the men finally released one another they noticed that Harry had silently packed everything and was in a corner hissing to his palm. Remus smiled knowing that Harry always carried the cameo of Salazar around when he could.

Professor Snape also noticed this and then said, "I hope that you are not planning on bringing him to your Potions classes this year Mr. Potter."

"I might Professor," he was answered. "I think Salazar would be interested to see the different potions that you teach from the ones he had available at the time when he taught."

"I think it might be best to return now," Remus said. "Don't you think that the others are going to be worried about us?"

"Oh shit," Harry said. "Draco's gonna kill me."

The men took care to incinerate the rest of the old woman's hoard and headed back to the hotel, hoping that they would not be in for a lecture. The professors had found out early on in the trip that Narcissa was just like Molly Weasley when it came to worry. She could lecture with the best of them.

--

All three of them were not disappointed later on when they finally arrived back to their rooms. "Where have you three been," she demanded. "Do you know the worry you caused us? No indication that anything was wrong, no notice, not even a note sent to tell us that you would be delayed in any way shape or form."

It was kind of funny watching Remus and Severus squirm under her gaze, but then Harry did his own squirming under the gaze of one upset Dragon, who was nodding at everything his mother was saying.

Eventually the men were able to go get cleaned up and then were able to sit down and tell everyone about their little adventure. Draco grilled his godfather on the spells that he used to surgically remove the tainted venom and then he grilled Harry on the anti-infection spells.

Severus and Remus showed off the fangs that they had kept, but they had completely removed the venom from them. Everyone was listening to their tales, when there was hissing heard coming from Severus' and Remus' rooms.

"We forgot about them," Remus said. Standing and going to his door to open it. Through the door came three disgruntled snakes, which Harry calmed down by hissing a comforting tone at them.

The three then slithered up to the boys and wrapped themselves around their bodies seeking the heat.

(...They forgot about us...) one hissed, slithering up to Harry, crawling up and settling around his neck and chest. This one was several feet long and it actually vestigial wings on its back. It was descendent from the worshipped Aztec snake-gods called Quetzalcoatl.

Other names to this breed are Gukumatz, Kukulcan or Nine Wind and all names were variations of the God name. However this snake could not fly and only grew to about 4 feet long. This one was almost fully grown.

Another one hissed (...Inconsiderate, very inconsiderate...) crawling up Draco and wrapping itself around his middle section seeking the warmth. This one was a thin little Blue Bellied-Black Snake, a distant _magical_ cousin to the Red Bellied-Black Snake of Australia. It was very poisonous, but only attacked when threatened. If it chose to bond with you, it would bite you in order to pass on immunity to its venom and magical properties, but that was rare occurrence.

(...Mmm, warmth...) said the third, cuddling around Coba. It was a grey-blue snake from the Green Tree Snake family. This one was completely non-poisonous and loved to eat frogs, but could grow quite large if exposed to a magical environment. Right now it was only about two feet long.

All the boys were seated on the floors, while the adults preferred the chairs. It was just something that teenagers did, but that was the reason that the snakes sought them out. They were within easy reach and radiated heat. Once the snakes settled around their chosen, there were hisses of contentment heard by everyone in the room.

Harry was consulting with Salazar on the snakes and both were conversing with them to find out what their needs were. Also, Harry explained that within a couple of days they would be returning home to Europe. All the snakes were then hissing amongst themselves and decided to accompany our boys' home, which was fine with everyone.

Coba wanted to know how to make them all the more comfortable and was taking notes on what Salazar was saying that would help the snakes have a descent terrarium. Coba had been surprised when he found out that Harry could talk to snakes, but then told everyone in the room that it was a '_cool_' gift to have.

Everyone enjoyed Coba's refreshing point of views and the founders' too, which were the remaining cameos in the book that Harry had found and were all teaching him about things from the past. Harry pointed out that it was better then "Hogwarts: A History".

There were no more adventures during the rest of their trip, but things had progressed from Draco's worry and he didn't want Noiro to sleep with him. He insisted that Harry share his bed and didn't care who else was in the room at the time. He wanted to be sure that Harry was there.

--

Their return trip back to the Manor was different from when they left because Noiro did not travel back with them, but Harry did. He couldn't wait to explore the Manor in his human form and access the library during the daytime.

They all arrived together in a tumble, except that the adults remained standing. The boys were shuffled off towards Draco's rooms. Narcissa's house-elf, Pikki, was contacted prior to arrange for the room across from Draco to be prepared for Coba.

Draco still didn't want to be separated from Harry and Harry was honest enough to know that he didn't want that either. They were still taking things as they come, whether it was slow touches, holding hands or stolen snogging moments.

Harry's birthday had come and gone without fanfare. In fact he didn't receive anything from his so-called best friends, but he did get his cake from Hagrid. Something that he gladly shared with his new family, explaining that Hagrid had been the very first person to have ever given him a personally made birthday cake, '_words and all_', just for him.

They were settled into a routine of work and play. The boys would study in the morning and assist Coba with some his pet projects, namely building terrariums for the snakes. Draco continued his studies and then showed Harry the gryphon feather that he had found in the woods.

Harry still didn't want to give up that secret just yet. He knew that he would eventually, but not just yet.

Narcissa's house-elf had unbound twins that required placement, but Harry couldn't see himself accepting any house-elf without consulting Dobby. Dobby would have been disappointed, if Harry chose another before asking him first. Turns out that Pikki's children were Dobby's too and Narcissa suggested that they bond to Draco and Coba, as they were probably the best ones to bond with in the beginning.

Harry agreed knowing that the two would need it, if and when they should be forced to move. Harry then did something strange, but it was accepted by the house-elves. He showed them all an old bonding formula from the Founders' book and they realized that an object could be the bonding element. He then showed them the Mardi Gras beads that he had spelled and explained that once the bonding spell was accepted it would be up to the bonded house-elf and the '_owner_' to mutually release the bond.

After that Harry produced the dreaded '_clothes_' and explained that with the new formula the house-elves would not have to only wear tea towels or pillowcases. Then he produces clothes for Narcissa's house-elf in order to protect her from the elements. She was skeptical at first, but Harry was very clear that if the house-elf wore clothes given to her by someone other then Narcissa she would still be Narcissa personal elf.

Narcissa agreed and showed Pikki how to alter the clothing to her tastes. In fact the house-elves could wear clothes with the permission of the '_masters_', as long as the masters did not officially give them the clothing, but nowadays no knew about that.

The elves were happier, especially the twins, with the clothes to protect their legs and arms, although they preferred to go barefoot indoor, they were provided with footwear, just in case. The twins' names were Twizzler and Bobbin. Twizzler bonded with Draco and Bobbin was bonded to Coba.

During the afternoons, Harry took them to Draco's house in order for them to be added to the Wards and that's when he found Hedwig. He included her into the Wards and added Dobby and Pikki, just in case. That way one of the elves could pop over and take care of her, when he couldn't.

Harry had performed the Photographic Memory spell on the boys two days after they had returned from their holidays and they all enjoyed the advantages.

It was during one of the morning sessions, when Draco found out his base Animagus form. By perfect coincidence it was a cat, just like Harry. In fact due to the interactions between the two, Draco had himself learned to let go a little and bring forth his inner child, so to speak. His first form turned out to be a very fluffy white Persian kitten with deep gray-blue eyes.

Coba loved to watch his guardians tumble like the kittens they could become and he loved watching the snakes play with them too. The snakes knew who the kittens were, but were happier than they had ever been thanks to Coba's homes and to Harry's interpretations.

Draco was working on another form, since he didn't want to be so tiny. Harry even showed him how to partially transform and Coba thought that was quite cool. He wished that he could become an animagus, but Harry explained that his body had to mature some more before that could happen.

In the mean time Coba taught Harry how to Shadow Slip. It was going to be very useful in the future should he need it, but Harry wasn't used to it enough to carry another person. Coba was only strong enough to carry something small like the kittens or the snakes, but could not bring an adult with him.

The boys had received their marks from their O.W.L.s and had decided on their future courses. Harry was glad that he was picking them with Draco and Narcissa and that they were there for input, because he didn't think that he wanted to be an Auror anymore. It was a good thing that Coba was witness to these decisions because his own future would be filled with something similar.

They reviewed possible career paths for Harry and Coba was introduced to the Wizarding world's version of career counseling. They used spells and potions, go figure. It was a potion, followed by a spell that would fill out a probability tree or chart on an enchanted piece of paper. Harry's ranged in varying degrees.

What happened was that the person's interests were listed or confirmed on the paper and when that person touched the interest, probabilities appeared, pointing out a possible career path. Auror was on his, but so was Professional Quidditch Player, Teacher, Instructor, Healer and the most interesting ones were Curse Breaker and Magical Tinker.

Looking in to the details of a Curse Breaker and Magical Tinker, Harry was surprised that it was almost like a '_Jack of All Trades_', which is someone who can fix many different things depending on the training he has. It was a mix of courses that eventually landed a person with enough knowledge to basically '_Trouble-Shoot_' nearly any given magical situation.

Well Harry had that in abundance and figured that he would gear his courses in that direction, ironically the courses were similar to Draco's with the exception that he would be taking his first year of Arithmancy, instead of Divination. He dropped the History of Magic class, as that was completely useless to him and he looked into some correspondence courses similar to Draco's for the subject's that he was interested.

Since he had experience in muggle mechanics and carpentry, he decided to study the magical variety during this school year. Narcissa helped him to set up the courses and acted as a liaison between Remus and Harry. Harry was going to have a similar set up as Draco with an unused classroom next to the DADA, like Draco had next to the Potions class. The boys knew they needed to study these subjects on their own, so they agreed to the separation during those times.

In the evenings Draco and Harry got closer to one another and elsewhere so did two lonely men, who belonged to the Order of the Phoenix.

--

**TBC…**

**Author's Note: ** Rio de Janeiro's paper currency is called _Real_ and the coins are called _Centavos_.

**A bit on the timeline:** Like my other story called "See What?" This works on the premise that June 15 is the day that the students return home. Harry spent about three weeks at the Dursleys, leading into the first week of July about the 06. He spent about a week in Malfoy Manor, before reading the Goblin's letter and they traveled around July 15 or 16. They returned to the Manor one day before Harry's birthday, to prevent some suspicions and have now spent about two weeks studying in the Manor. Next chapter will begin around the twelfth or thirteenth of August.

Thank you very much for your reviews. They are encouraging.


	13. Home, Frying Pan, Fire

Disclaimer, Author's Notes, & Warnings: SEE PROLOGUE

Disclaimer, Author's Notes, & Warnings: SEE PROLOGUE

**LEGEND:**

"Normal Talk"

'_Thoughts or Emphasis_'

(...Parseltongue...)

--

Chapter Twelve - Home...Frying Pan...Fire

--

They have been home for about two weeks and it was now around the thirteenth of August.

Professor Snape had been around several times to instruct the boys on Occlumency. He had shown them how to clear their minds, however it seems that Harry's new mediation methods were working for him.

Unfortunately there was nothing that Harry could do about the visions. Narcissa helped him to sort them out, as she was a registered Seer with the Ministry of Magic and the Department of Mysteries, but since she was unable to _See_ ever since she took the Mark, she allowed them to remove her from the active list.

All she told them was that her _sight_ had been unreliable since she had caught one of the Wizarding diseases that pass through every witch's and wizard's life. This disease affected everyone differently, so her losing her _Seer Sight_ was not that surprising.

Still Harry had visions from time to time and he still woke up and meditated the visions away, but on this particular night Harry had a problem. He couldn't wake himself up from the vision and it was a very vivid one at that.

Voldemort had discovered a way to keep Harry out of synchronization, when he experienced the visions. In fact that was the only control Voldie had now, but it served the purpose well. Harry was receiving this vision far later then when the event occurred.

He had found that out from Professor Snape and they deducted that it was because Harry had control of the other aspects that Voldie had this one.

This vision was the one he had been waiting for. He knew that he would _see_ this, but still to have it actually happen surprised him. The prisoners have escaped from Azkaban. He was fighting to wake up.

Harry had fallen asleep as Noiro with Coba because Coba had a nightmare earlier in the evening and Harry's kitten form next to him was a comfort. It allowed the boy to go back to sleep with the purring of the kitten in his ear.

Finally, he was able to wake up and that's when he noticed the flashing from his tags. He performed a time spell to find out when it had begun. It had started flashing nearly an hour and a half ago. It was nearly too late for Harry to prepare their rescue.

_Nearly_, though, was still enough time. He called for the house-elves, Pikki, Twizzler and Bobbin. He had the three pack Coba's belongings, snakes and all. He then asked the house-elves to pop Coba to their new hidden location and make sure that they added him to the blood Wards of Draco's house.

Harry then woke Coba up with a gentle shake and a hand covering his mouth to prevent sound, "Sshhh," he said. "You have to go with Twiz and Bob now. I will find Draco and his mother. I hope that I'm on time, but I want you and the elves ready for us with medical supplies when we arrive."

Coba was very scared. Despite his age and some accumulated wisdom, his emotions were still far from under control. He hugged Harry saying, "I don't want to go, but I will. You bring him home safe and save Narcissa too."

Harry just hugged him tightly and said, "I will do my best. Now go with them. They will keep you safe. To help you occupy your time, choose your own room in the house and begin to organize it. I will do my very best to get there by morning and I promise to call Twiz or Bob if I get stuck."

Coba just buried his face in Harry's chest and nodded. One last squeeze and Harry morphed into his kitten form. He toddled off to seek his Dragon.

Twizzler had told him that Draco was not in his room. Harry had asked the elves pack up Draco's supplies for his studies first, everything that they purchased on holiday next and then anything that could not be traced, tracked or anything that did not have a Dark feel of monitoring or location finding on it.

He had an idea of where to begin looking from what Pikki had told him. It seems that Lucius had returned straight home to clean up and get organized for a move. He was going to bring his wife and his son to the Dark Lord. The Dark Lord was then going to test them and Mark his son and heir.

However, when he finally saw his wife, he noticed that her Mark was gone and in its place was another very colourful tattoo. He was disappointed in his wife that his son still was not Marked. He had left specific instructions to her to do so, but to find out that she didn't and betrayed her glorious Lord by changing or altering her Mark. It was unforgivable.

He chained her up in the dungeons and brought his son down and forced him to watch the torture of his own mother. Draco was then tortured himself when he refused to comply with his father's wishes and get ready to be Marked. After the Crucio spell, several cutting and whipping spells later, Lucius left them where they fell.

He needed to go calm down and he needed to call his friend, Snape, in order bring potions to heal them up some before he brought the both of them before the Dark Lord for their punishment and possible demise.

Harry had just seen where Lucius had come from and since Lucius did not know about Draco's son or the fact that Harry Potter was in his house, he was able to sneak down using the shadows like his son taught him. Unfortunately for Harry, he could only Shadow Slip, when in his kitten form or a mixed form. They had speculated that they needed to be or seem to be magical creatures in order to travel the Shadows. Still that came in very handy right now.

He was able to slip down and see them. He was given potions and blood replenishers by Pikki in order to be able to get them moving; he worked on Narcissa first and the on Draco. There was only so much that he could do and he needed to get them out, now.

He revived them and was surprised that Draco launched himself at him. "I refused to take it," he whispered croakingly, burying his pale tear stained face in Harry's shoulder. "We need to get out of here."

"Narcissa, why didn't you portkey out of here?" Harry asked. "You know that I can get him out, if I'm not worrying about you."

"I can't," she said. "These dungeons are spelled in such a way that I can't. I'm afraid that one of my legs is broken, too or I would have been able to leave."

"Nonsense, you know you stayed for me," Draco said and then spelled a temporary cast on her leg. It would allow her to move and get to safety.

"Let's go," Harry whispered. "He's taking his time and calling in someone that will heal you up in order for you to be presentable to the Git."

"How do you propose we do that?" Draco asked.

"Well, your mother obviously can't travel very far, but we will be able to get her upstairs where she can use the Floo. You and I will be leaving by the front doors," he said.

They looked at him like he has lost his mind. Then he explained that he had a special Floo powder for Narcissa to use and that he was sure that Molly Weasley would be able to help her out. Going out the front door was the best and the least expected way that they could go. Seriously, no one would think that they would be leaving by the front door.

"The floo is best for you in your condition," he whispered, as both boys supported her up the stairs. "I hope that none of the _other_ house-elves are aware of what we're doing right now."

"Don't borrow trouble, Noiro," she said. She had continued to call him Noiro when they had returned from their trip. Draco and Coba had done the same, once it was explained that it was a perfect form of protection for Harry. They agreed to only address him as Noiro.

They had some luck, but not enough. The boys were able to brace Narcissa, upright enough to step into the floo network, just as Harry threw in the special powder, which allowed him to give the address to the burrow, but Draco was suddenly screaming behind him.

Narcissa had a perfect view of her son convulsing on the floor, she was about to launch herself out of the fireplace, when Harry shoved her back in and shouted, "The Burrow."

--

She was furious and cursing because Noiro had locked the Floo behind her and she knew that she would have to wait for news. She tumbled through into the kitchen of the Burrow, still shouting and crying into the Floo for "Noiro" and "Draco". Finally her frustration at the situation had her yelling into the fireplace, "Noiro, you'll pay for that. You'd better be helping my son and I expect to be notified, you sneaky brat!!"

Arthur was awake and heard the screeching of a strange woman in their house. Molly woke when he shook her awake. He hushed her, in order to get her to listen to the ravings of the stranger, when Molly realized that one of the names shouted out was "Draco."

She told her husband that she believed the person to be Narcissa Malfoy and the proceeded to go down the stairs, but Arthur stopped her. "I will check it first Molly dear. I need to be sure of your safety and that of the children."

They had been through this before and she knew that this was the way he wanted it to be. It wasn't as though she couldn't take care of herself, but they both knew that if anything happened to her there was the possibility that he wouldn't be able to cope with his children the way she could. They were after all in the middle of a war type conflict and the loss of one of their lives was entirely possible.

Arthur quietly made his way down the narrow stairs and was able to here the last of Narcissa's calls. He was looking at her disheveled state and took note of how filthy she looked. She had bruises all over her arms and one of her legs was in a temporary cast. Still he had his wand trained on her, but wasn't able to see hers and didn't know if she had it on her.

"What are you doing here?" He demanded.

She whirled from position and stumbled over, falling to the ground, with an '_Oomph_'. "Hello Arthur," she groaned. "You didn't have to startle me, but I understand your need to be cautious." She struggled into a sitting position with her immobile leg stretched to the side and the other tucked under her. She held out her hands in the universal symbol of peace or more precisely in front of her showing that she had nothing up her sleeves. "The bastard snapped my wand," she said.

He raised the light in the room and was able to see more clearly now. She was bruised, but even her eyes were blackened and she had a split lip and what looked like nasty cuts along her body. "I will get Molly down here to help you," he said. She just nodded and willingly waited for help.

Molly in the mean time knew that some of her children were light sleepers and may have heard the noise, but she took care of that by casting a sleeping spell up the stairs in order to prevent her curious ones from snooping.

She waited for her husband to come back up the stairs and when he did, his face was grave. "It's Narcissa and she is in a very bad way. She'll need help, but I'm not sure whether to inform the Order or not. What do you think?"

"I believe that she should have the choice. I don't want her pressured into anything and this might have just been an emergency place for her to stop and heal before she moves on with whatever her plans may be," Molly said. She was convinced that there was no way that Narcissa would ever have come here, if she had another choice.

Molly made her way down the stairs and Arthur followed her in order to heat up water for tea. Molly gasped at the sight, but quickly hustled the battered woman into the living room and onto the couch. Then she proceeded to heal the wounds as best she could before considering a call in the big guns, whose names were Severus Snape and Pamona Pomfrey.

"How did all of this happen, Cissa?" She asked, curious to know what was going on.

"Lucius," she hissed his name. "That bastard showed up, tore me from my bed, dragged my down the down by my hair and shoved me into one of the dungeons in Malfoy Manor." Her voice was rough from the beatings that she had taken. He had even cut off her air supply by choking her for a bit. Sighing she continued to explain that he had obviously escaped from prison, but that he had been ranting about her supposed betrayal to the Dark Lord's cause.

"What made him believe that?" Arthur asked, handing her some fresh tea.

She showed them her left arm and there they noticed that she didn't have the Dark Mark at all, but a very beautiful tattoo of Fireflowers. "It was altered during the summer. The darkness within could not be changed at the time, but the outward appearance was altered by a very powerful wizard." She was smiling remembering what Harry had told her about it, but then frowned with worry about all the boys, hoping that Harry had succeeded in saving her son.

Molly was surprised that something like this could be done and wondered who the Wizard could have been. Narcissa looked at Molly and winked. Molly blinked back, wondering what that meant, but then saw Cissa lift her cup of tea in a tiny salute and the red haired woman caught on very quickly. Marseilles' TeaHouse and the last time they had a conversation over tea was in the Bank. Molly then knew that somehow Harry had found his way into the Manor was actually companioning Narcissa's son.

That was when, she fully realized that Harry had not come through the Floo nor had Draco, which meant that they were either still in trouble or that they were going to another location. Narcissa's worry was all over her face, so she knew that the boys were still in trouble. Her own worry was added to the situation, but she didn't let it show. Instead she asked about medical help and who she preferred to assist her.

"Please contact Severus for me and if he is unavailable, I much rather have Remus come. I don't want to involve the school nurse, she's far too demanding and definitely too nosy. I'm afraid that if you contact her she will notify the Head of the Order." She explained that she did not want to have anything to do with the Order of the Phoenix and that the Headmaster would likely confine her in some way to gain information from her that she did not have.

They agreed and first Flooed Professor Snape. They were informed that he was out, so they contacted Remus and he was able to bring an emergency supply of Potions and salves that Severus had left him, just in case he was contacted by anyone.

He came through and was surprised to find Narcissa, but the proceeded to assist in healing her wounds. He even had Skele-grow for her leg to mend and once the salves and Potions were administered, they were all waiting for word from the boys.

Molly had convinced Arthur to return to bed, but she stayed up with her friend and her fellow Order member. Remus asked to remain until word was received and the ladies agreed.

Sometime over their fourth cup of tea, a female house-elf Popped into the Burrow delivering the much awaited news and letters.

--

In the meantime, while Narcissa was Flooed to the Burrow, Harry rushed to stop the torture of his friend and soon to be lover. He morphed into a third animagus that he hadn't told anyone about, as it was very recent, but he thought that it was appropriate.

He was a lion with a very dark-black shaggy mane and a large tanned body with his green eyes piercing the semi-darkened room. He took off into the main entrance, using the Shadow Slipping abilities he was able to _see_ Lucius in the middle of the stairs, directing his anger towards his son.

Harry _slipped_ through and was able to come up behind the tall blonde man. Coming out of the shadows and shoved him down the stairs, not caring that serious harm would come to the man. It was a kill or be killed situation and Harry knew that this man would not hesitate to kill him or his own son.

He raced down, running over the struggling body of the Azkaban escapee and peered into the tortured face of Draco Malfoy. He licked the cheek nearest to him, caused the shuddering youth to open his eyes and gaze into the cat-like green ones in front him. His silver eyes widened, when he saw the new form, and shown with pride and pleasure, that his friend was so powerful.

Harry's large body was shielding the blonde youth from his father's view and testing Draco's chances of escape, when he was suddenly hit with the Crucio curse from behind. As an animal it had very little effect, especially if the animal was one of the types that had a very stubborn nature. Harry only growled his displeasure.

Draco leaned against the large cat, concealing his wand hand he was able to successfully disable his father. Struggling to stand, he gripped the heavy mane of the large lion next to him and pulled himself up to a wobbly, yet standing position. "I wouldn't move, if I were you father," he said in a roughened voice. His wand was still trained on the man lying somewhat crumpled on the floor.

Lucius was furious. How dare his own son and heir fight against his wishes and that creature was obviously more then it seemed. It had an intelligence that he could only attribute to it being some kind of Animagus or familiar.

He turned away seeking his wand all the while wondering why Snape was delayed, but then again Snape had told him that he was in meeting with the Headmaster of the school. Dumbledore was notoriously always having inconvenient meetings to Lucius' mind.

He hoped that Snape would show up in time to prevent Draco from leaving, as Draco was now draping himself over the great cat and it looked like he was going to ride him out and through the doors. Lucius _Accioed_ his wand and cast an Animagus revealing spell on the great cat, when suddenly the cat changed in annoyance.

It morphed once more, growing huge wings, bird legs and claws instead of forepaws and the head changed to that of a golden eagle. The gryphon was pissed off. He whirled around and charged the prone man.

Lucius' eyes grew to huge proportions and he began to cast spells, unfortunately the creature was being shielded by his traitorous son, but he did manage to slash one of the wings so that it was disabled and could not fly.

The creature snapped his razor sharp beak at him, cutting his wand arm and sending the wand in it flying. The gryphon then caught the wand and snapped it in half, rendering the man helpless. Draco spoke to his ride and told him to leave the old man be. He made his choice to serve a Dark Lord and Draco's own choice lay in another direction.

Draco turned to his father and said, "I will never follow you or Voldemort. I refuse the choices that you have made for me and I warn you now, Malfoy, that I will side with Harry Potter in this war. He will be the one to defeat your Lord." He said all of that with such conviction that Lucius was stunned to realize that the gryphon had just carried his son out of the house.

Lucius tried to tap into the Manor's wards to prevent his offspring from leaving, but Noiro was familiar with the terrain and took the quickest path that he could all the while hoping that Draco managed to stay on his back.

The race to leave the Manor's grounds had Draco clutching whatever he could on the animal and eventually his hands clung to the largish collar around the neck. He made sure that his hold was not choking this marvelous creature, but he still held on tightly.

Harry was tiring, but he knew that he had to keep traveling through the trees in order to hide their paths. He eventually made it to a stream and was able to travel up it for a time, to hide their tracks. Eventually he felt that Draco was about to slip off. There had been enough time that had passed that he could speak to him and did so now. "Draco," he said. "Draco, wake up." He said louder.

Draco was startled awake just as he was about to slip off. "Noiro?" He asked.

"Yes, wake up for a bit," he said. "I need you to heal my wing so that I can fly us to safety. Do you have enough energy for a couple of spells?"

Draco rubbed the sleep from his eyes. He was still drowsy, but managed to fix the wing without a problem. Harry did a few experimental flaps. Draco was about to drift off, but Harry managed to get him to use a sticking charm to affix himself to the gryphon and ensure that he would not be falling off once they took off into the air.

As soon as Harry was sure that Draco was secure, he took off and flew to Draco's new home. He was getting exhausted from the run through the underbrush, but he was now also tiring from flying. Harry was still quite a ways away from Draco's home, but he would fly for a few miles in his gryphon form and then run for a few in his lion form.

Draco was still secured to his back, but Harry hoped that he was still alive and swore to himself that he wouldn't rest unless he absolutely had to. This, of course, was the first time that he ever had to get there when the wards were raised and luckily he was the secret keeper.

Thankfully he arrived just as the dawn was slowly creeping into the sky. Draco was awake now and they were talking in low voices, just as the arrived at a secluded area that didn't seem to have anything in front of them, but Harry instructed Draco to let five drops of blood to land on the two stone markers that he had set up for the wards.

Once the blood landed on the stones, Draco's eyes took in the beautiful country home that was glowing in the morning sun. Harry padded up to the house when the doors opened. Out came flying two very concerned house-elves and one very concerned little boy.

Coba stopped in front of them and then ushered them into the house and up to the master bedroom. There the elves and Coba had set up the snakes' homes, the owl stand for Hedwig was there and so was she. He had even prepared basin of warm water that the elves charmed to retain their heat. The Potions and salves were already line up for used and there were sheets set out on the floor in order to treat them, before the two could be tucked into bed.

"I can't change back until tomorrow," Harry said. "I was hit with an Animagus revealing spell, just before I snapped his wand."

Draco on the other hand, released himself from the sticking charm and collapsed to the floor when his legs buckled under him from lack of use. He was in for some serious pins and needles sensations later, but with the help of Coba and the house-elves, he was able to get his wounds treated, dressed into pajamas and tucked into his new bed.

Harry stayed in his lion form and his own wounds were treated. Giving into Draco's demands, Harry was settled against the headboard of the bed, while Draco used him as a pillow. Pikki popped in to remind them about one very worried mother and grandmother and she suggested that the boys write letters telling her that they were safe now.

Harry dictated his with a dicta-quill. Draco and Coba wrote their own letters and once all they had been written Pikki hand delivered them to her mistress, saying that she would stay with her. The house-elves retired for the remainder of the day and all the boys were tired from the events of the night before.

Coba wavered in the doorway when Harry said, "You can join us."

Draco nodded and patted the place next to him, pulling up the covers to allow the boy to slip in with him. Coba then cuddled into the blonde, shaking with relief that they were all safe, they made him take a calming potion and let him fall to sleep. Draco took a sleeping potion and fell asleep to Harry's deep rumbling purrs, comforted by the sound. Harry was so exhausted that drifted off as soon as the other two had taken their potions.

--

It was one very relieved mother and two relieved adults when the letters arrived at the Burrow. Narcissa quickly scanned each one, hoping that the boys were all right and that they would be able to handle things on their own.

She did make a promise to Belle and knew that she would be Portkeying back to New Orleans in order to train with her, to improve the skills that she still had access to. She didn't want to leave the boys with this upcoming conflict, but knew that her apron strings were being let go and after this nights events she had to trust them to do the right thing.

Picking up the first one she read:

_Dear Mum,_

_First of all, we are all at a safe location and have been healed of our injuries. There was nothing life threatening, but Noiro was hit with a Revealing spell again and is now stuck in his current form. His current form is that of a lion with a very black mane and green eyes, he's so cool._

_I've made my choice and I have told Lucius that I will follow Harry in the upcoming conflict or war. I know that you'll be proud that I have finally made my decision._

_I didn't know that there was an escape plan, but I'm glad that you and Noiro thought of it. Letters are never as good as speaking to the real person, but it will have to do for now, as I am fully aware that you are leaving for some retraining._

_Noiro is still looking into how to remove the Dark Mark and we will contact you once we have the solution._

_Your loving son,_

_Draco_.

The next letter was obviously from a dicta-quill and that caused her to smile, knowing that it was from Harry.

_Narcissa,_

_I did not have any trouble extracting Draco from the Manor. We did have a few injuries, but all have been healed thanks to the supplies that you had me bring here._

_We are going to be settling in and continuing our studies and programs without contact, but we may have to go to Diagon Alley to pick up Coba's wand. It's one of the few items that we have to purchase, but I believe that we will do that only on the thirty-first of August. We might be lucky enough to avoid the crowds, but we will be going under glamours and spells, similar spells to your Fireflowers._

_I'm sorry that I didn't change the Mark back to the way it was, otherwise this would not have happened. I will, of course, have to discuss with Professor Snape, about why I was trapped in the dream. That's why I was late in finding out about the prison break. I know that it is not my fault, but I still feel guilty that you and Draco have been injured because of it. _

_On a happier note, we left Lucius crumpled on the floor in the main hall with a snapped wand. Unfortunately he did tag me and I'm now stuck in the forms, but still I think that he had already called for back up before we were all able to make our escape. So he just might live._

_Coba is safe here too. I had the elves Pop him here as soon as I woke up and I had already added him to the blood wards. _

_Please take care and we promise to write regularly._

_Noiro_

The last letter caused tears to trickle from her clear blue eyes.

_Dear Grandmother,_

_Draco (Dad) and Harry (Pops) said that you'd be pleased if I addressed you in this fashion. I hope that you don't mind and don't feel too old being called Grandmother or Grandma._

_I arrived at this house in the middle of nowhere and was told by Noiro to choose my room and decorate it to help pass the time, while waiting for them to show up._

_They took __**forever**__ getting here, but now everything is fine. They didn't have any broken bones, just a few cuts and Dad was able to drink a potion to help with that Crucio thing. It did help with his shakes._

_Did you know that Pops had set up a workshop for himself in the barn next to the house? His workshop took up half of it and in the other half he set up some kind of infirmary or animal hospital for Dad. Dad doesn't know. Also, did you know that there is a pool taking over half of the basement and the other half is set up with a huge Potions Lab._

_I'll write some more later. Just so you know, I haven't been calling them by those names, but I do think them from time to time. I just thought I would tell you. I'm planning on using those names at school when needed. _

_Oh! The reason that Draco is called Dad is because I heard him talking to Harry a while back telling him that if he ever adopted another child or had one of his own then he wanted them to call him Dad. He said that Father was too formal and reminded him too much of Lucius._

_Harry said that he didn't mind and that should he ever adopt or have children of his own, then he preferred a less formal title too. They sifted through a small list of names like Pop, Papa, Poppa, and even Père, which is French for father. I think that any future children will be calling him Papa, but for me I'll just call him, Pops._

_Think of the noise that will occur at school because of it, I can't wait to actually go learn something, but I glad that we're at a very safe location. Twiz and Bob explained how the wards worked._

_Say Hi to Remus and Severus for all of us and please tell them not to worry. We will be on the platform nine and three quarters for September 1st and we will be causing a ruckus during the Sorting Feast just before I get Sorted._

_Pops said we're going to get more owls, one for me and one for Dad. We also need something for transatlantic communications, now that you're going away to train too._

_Promise to write to you soon,_

_Your first grandson,_

_Coba Draconus Potter_

Narcissa was proud that the boy wanted to call her _Grandmother_ and she proudly showed the letter to Remus. She talked a bit with Molly and then apologized for staying past her time.

"I made a vow, this summer that if there was no way for me to continue on with the Dark Lord and remain alive, then I would portkey somewhere safe," she said. "I promised the boys that I would continue my _Seer_ training far away from this conflict." She stood up, brushing away the crumbs of the morning toast from torn robes.

Molly stood and hugged her friend. "I promise to keep an eye on the boys for you." Cissa hugged friend back and was comforted that the boys would be able to turn to another female adult, should they need to.

Cissa turned to Remus and hugged the werewolf, extracting a promise from him to also keep an eye on _all_ of the boys. He nodded and said, "I am more than sure that Severus and I can manage that."

She smiled, tucking the letters into the pockets of her robes, lifted the sleeve of her right arm and touched the gryphon feather imbedded in her upper arm. She said the activation phrase and was whisked away, back to New Orleans into the arms of a waiting friend.

Molly looked at Remus and Remus looked at Molly. She had more questions, but knew that some secrets were best kept for the time being. "I do hope that you'll be able to fill me in on some of the secrets at a later date, my dear Remus," she asked pointedly.

Remus shuffled his feet and rubbed the back of his head. He nodded and then said, "When I can, I'll let you know. For now please take care of yourself and I'll see you at the next meeting. It promises to be interesting."

Molly shooed him out, cleaned up the added mess of the empty Potions bottles and salves. Then she went to prepare breakfast for her waking brood, plus one Miss Granger.

--

**TBC…**


	14. A New Home

Disclaimer, Author's Notes, & Warnings: SEE PROLOGUE

Disclaimer, Author's Notes, & Warnings: SEE PROLOGUE

**LEGEND:**

"Normal Talk"

'_Thoughts or Emphasis_'

(...Parseltongue...)

--

Chapter Thirteen - A New Home

--

The boys slept in that day, knowing that they were safe for the time being. Draco woke up listening to a very deep rumbling purr. Next to him was a small tucked form that cuddled into his middle. He smiled. In his mind he knew that they were becoming a family unit, despite not having been intimate with Harry yet, he knew that eventually he would want to. His dreams were very vivid in that respect.

Draco yawned and stretched his limbs, working out some of the kinks still in them. He sat up to look around the room and was surprised to find many of his _old_ and _lost_ belongings. It was as though his favourites had disappeared from the Manor only to reappear here. He noted the different doors connected to the room and was convinced that one led to the loo. He extracted himself from the bed covers and his son to look for it.

Eventually he found the right door. The others led to a hall, a private study and a private library. The loo itself was huge. The tub alone was enough to send him into raptures. It was all set out for his use with his favourite items for washing and bathing. He decided to wait for the others to wake up in time and decided to read in bed. It was far more comfortable now with Harry's new form to use as a pillow and with their son with them.

He picked the Animagus journal that Harry had been working on and had given him. Harry was working on a theory that some wizards may have multiple animals and in conjunction with the information that the founders were providing it seemed entirely possible that Harry was right, especially now given the fact that Harry now had three feline forms.

He walked into the room and gaze at the occupants in his bed. Still smiling, he turned his gaze onto the huge, male lion at that head of the bed. He was astounded at the beast's colouring. The mane was long tousled and very shaggy with cow licks here and there, just like Harry's own hair. There were reddish reflections in it and the main body was long with huge paws that looked so soft.

There were some odd patches on the fur of the body that had him curious, so he returned to bed to have a closer look. It was then that he realized that the body of the lion reflected the marks and scars on Harry's own body. Glad that he had gotten over the most difficult aspect, which were Harry's hands, but he was upset that Harry didn't trust him to know about the others. Then again he, too, had his own that Harry did not know about.

He let out a soft snorting noise, '_Aren't we a pair?_' he thought. '_We're both afraid of pity, even though we did overcome other physical aspects. Maybe it's not the pity that we fear, but fear that we would be less attractive in the other's eyes. It's not like he hasn't seen me, but it's different to expose yourself to a person rather then a kitten._'

He was sure that that was it. They were both afraid that the other would not find them attractive if all the scars were revealed. He placed his hands on the soft fur and petted the great beast. He paused from time to time to examine the shape of a particular wound and the scar that had been left behind.

He was rewarded with a sigh and a deepening purr. The great cat rolled onto his side and stretched in his sleep. Draco knew that it was time to stop because otherwise the cat aspect would begin to knead at his bed and sheets. It was not something that he wanted to lose to those claws. He climbed back under the covers, leaned back against the soft furry hide and continued reading from where he left off.

Harry was aware of every movement that Draco had taken since waking up. He knew that they would eventually become lovers, but also knew that he had left out the true extent of his scars. He had long since suspected that should he ever gain an adult cat form, that form would reflect his true body appearance, scars and all.

He was surprised that Draco was not put off by it and strongly suspected that Draco had his own secret scars that he was afraid of exposing to him. It was different for Draco to expose himself to _Noiro_, then to expose himself in an intimate fashion to Harry. Harry, himself, didn't want the extra pity, but in Draco's case he knew deep down that he was afraid that the extent of his scars might render him less appealing to his dragon.

Then he felt the hands petting him. He couldn't help it; it felt wonderful just being touched in a gentle soothing motion. He rolled and continued to rumble purr. He felt Draco settle himself back into bed, leaning against the solid fur of his hide. Cracking one eye open, he saw that Draco was reading the journal that he had given him to study.

Harry had kept track of all his experiments on partial morphings to complete transformation, as well as the speculation regarding the age of the Kitten form and the reason behind its manifestation versus his actual age and what the form should really look like. He had even written about his gryphon form in the later sections and even more when he realized that he was so close to achieving a third and quite possibly adult looking feline form.

He speculated that the adult form would come with the confidence of being with Draco and their blooming relationship. There was also the possibility that taking on the guardianship of Coba had allowed his outlook to mature a bit more then normal. Then again both he and Draco have had more responsibility then many of their other classmates. Definitely more then any Gryffindor currently at the school and that was something that Harry noted in his journal.

He closed his eyes and went back to sleep knowing that Coba would not wake up til later and that Draco would drift off after a while too.

--

It was in the afternoon that the boys had finally maneuvered themselves out of bed. Once everyone had eaten and were refreshed, Harry took them on the grand tour of the house. He was still padding about on four paws, but was able to talk to them normally through a partial morphing of the throat and mouth muscles. Coba thought it was pretty cool to have a talking cat and told them so.

Draco's room with the attached bathroom, study and library were part of the master suite in the house. It was located in the attic and those were the only rooms on the top floor of the house. There were two sets of French glass doors, one facing south-east and the other facing north-west, leading out to a wrap around balcony on the upper level and from the balcony there was an additional ladder that led to the roof for star gazing or sun tanning.

One level below that was where Coba found his rooms. It was on the opposite corner from Draco's, but still close enough for him to be able seek out _Dad_ and _Pops_. He had two attached rooms, one of which he wanted to turn into his own private study and the other, which was connected to the study, into a room that he could release the snakes.

--

The snakes were happy with the little boy and they were very glad to have decided to come back with all of them. They were very interested in the snake-speaker that was kind to them and that had kept his promise to their dead leader. The two magical ones were seriously considering on bonding with all three boys because they were concerned by everything that they had been told about the events in Harry's and Draco's life. They were feeling very protective for all of them.

Harry had written to Professor Snape, when they had returned to the Manor, with a special request for Coba to be able to bring the snakes with him for the first year. It was with the understanding that they would reside with Draco, since he was a prefect and had his own room. The professor had seen them earlier at the Manor and told them that Professor Dumbledore would allow the snakes, as long as they were harmless.

Snape did not enlighten the old coot about them and he had extracted a promise from Coba that the snakes were his responsibility, no matter what house the boy would be sorted into. They were, of course, hoping that it would by Slytherin. Still both teens told Coba that they would be proud of him, no matter what house he was sorted into.

Coba paused and really thought about the house system. He knew that in Slytherin he may or may not be accepted and then thought about Gryffindor house. It would not be a good choice for him to go there, since Harry was going to be sorted out of it. He might have a better chance in Ravenclaw, but he did not discount Hufflepuff because there was just something about Helga that he liked every time he talked with her.

Still he would wait and see what the Sorting Hat had to say and then he would make his decision.

--

Coba's room had a private bathroom and a small sitting area upon entering the room. He had only just finished placing his furniture and was waiting impatiently for his Pops and Dad to arrive before decided on a colour scheme.

The other rooms on the floor included another suite like Coba's in the opposite corner and two smaller rooms that had a connecting bathroom in between them on each side of the hall. They would be ideal for guests and the other suite could be used for visiting couples. Draco and Harry strongly suspected that Remus and Severus would be the ones using that suite in the future.

Going down the stairs they reached the second floor where half of it was part of the upper level of the main library. There were stairs leading down to the main floor in the library as well as the main stairs just outside the room. The second half of the second floor was split further into two other rooms, but their purpose had yet to be decided by Draco.

On the first floor there was the main entrance that led to the first floor section of the library. Towards the back was the kitchen with an adjoining atrium and a door that led outside to the gardens. The house-elves were looking for trustworthy individuals to work the gardens and Harry had told them that species did not matter, as long as the ones they found were truly interested in working in their gardens.

On the other side of the library door were two more rooms that had no purpose at this time either. One looked like it had been used as a dining room, but Harry had vetoed that aspect in favour of the kitchen and its environment. He had even set a breakfast or casual dining nook within the atrium itself. Most of the plants in the atrium were fully functional as potion ingredients as well as cooking ingredients and were the least harmful ones.

Harry's purchase of obscure books had helped him to recognize the varieties that had been grown on the grounds and in the glass enclosure here before. He had cleaned up a lot and discovered a few that had thrived without too much attention.

Coba was eagerly leading Draco down to the basement level, while Harry chose to wait for them outside. Coba was happy when he saw the Potions Lab for the first time, but was even happier showing off the pool. Harry was already well on his way to being a Tinker Mage because the pool had a self cleaning, water recycling system in the form of a waterfall in one of the corners. It looked like a waterfall that one would find in nature with plants and varying sizes of rocks, but this was clearly artificial due to the fact that the plants were contained and had little monitoring rings at their base. There were charmed windows that allowed for artificial sun-light to stream into the room and allow the plants to get what they need. The temperature of the pool was constant at a level above just warm.

Draco had never even seen a set up like that, but he loved it. The Potions Lab was not something that he was too fond of, but he knew that every household should be able to brew their own necessary potions. He just hoped that Coba was interested in that field or else the boys may just have to go back to America and adopt Professor Snape in order for someone to actually brew in that Lab.

--

He needn't have worried. Coba definitely had a strong interest in potions and has been devouring all that he could get his hands in regards to them. Harry had even suggested to Coba to learn how to cook, when they were at Malfoy Manor, from recipes and encouraged him to try out any new and interesting ones.

The other house-elves at the Manor were not pleased with that, but Narcissa had ordered them to allow it and they had to obey. Still it improved Coba's knowledge of measuring and ingredient interaction. Not all of his concoctions were edible, but it was a good point to start from. Coba agreed that he needed to learn some basic things like actually how to cut the ingredients and he was happy to spend time in the kitchen learning everything that Noiro showed him.

The kitchen at the Manor could become quite lively during those times. It was Draco who started to study there while the others were preparing the meal. Eventually Narcissa joined them, reading her current book on divination. Just because she was prevented from actually being able to _See_ due to the Dark Magics in her left arm, did not mean that that was the only method available to her for gazing into the future.

--

Harry was sitting outside while the other two visited the basement area. He was conversing with Twizzler and Bobbin, when Pikki popped by to inform him that Narcissa had portkeyed away and she was about to join her in New Orleans.

"Master Noiro," she chided. "Dobby would be very unhappy if you did not offer him a position here or a bond with you. Master Draco and Master Coba are bonded to my boys, but you still haven't called on Dobby. You said you would."

"Pikki", he began. "I freed Dobby from all that. Do you really think that he would want to be bound again after what he has been through?"

"It's his choice. Please give the chance him to make it." She asked sincerely. "He can accept a modified bond like Twizzler and Bobbin. Just let him have the choice." Then she placed a letter at his feet and before popping out and reminding him to write often.

Harry discussed the different type of elf bonds with the twin house-elves and they agreed with their dam. Their sire had been praising Harry for the longest time and had actually made the effort to help him when no other would. Harry sighed; he felt pressured into this, but then again they were right. He had promised to offer and still had done nothing about it.

He asked the elves if another could pop in here without being bonded to a member of the household. They told him that none could, but since they were blood related to Dobby, only _he_ could pop in to visit them. Coming to a decision Harry called on Dobby for the first time in a long time.

Dobby popped over, eager to assist the Great Harry Potter, but only found his two offspring sitting beside a huge black mane lion. He looked at the lion more closely and knew that it was more then it seemed. "Harry Potter has asked for Dobby?" He questioned looking at the lion.

The lion nodded his head and spoke to the shocked elf, "I did."

Dobby's eyes grew to huge proportions. His mouth was opening and closing not sure what he wanted to say. "Please be at ease Dobby. I will not eat you and this is only temporary for the time being. Surely you've heard of Animagusi before?"

Dobby nodded vigorously and wondered why his offspring were here. He took a quick look around and wondered where _here_ was. His head tilted to the side and asked, "Why?"

Harry sighed and then explained that Twizzler and Bobbin were bonded to Draco and Coba. He explained almost everything that occurred during this summer and then he told Dobby that Pikki had recommended discussing a service type bond with him. "She felt that you were waiting for me to ask you, to see if you wanted to become my house-elf? Do you? I know that I freed you, but she seems to think that you would like to be a member of my household. Was I wrong to free you when I did?"

Dobby shook his head and explained that he needed to be free from the _Bad Master_ and would have bonded with Harry, if Harry had wanted him too. Dobby, also knew that Harry's Grangie wouldn't like it if the Great Harry Potter was to have a bond with a house-elf.

Dobby then spoke very frankly, "House-elves are made for service. We need to be of use or else we do not survive. I am different because I don't really need bonding, as I have gained independence from being free." He looked down thinking for a bit and then continued, "I want to be bound to a good wizard who cares about me and the other house-elves around. I wanted fairness and that is why I work at Hogwarts, but an elf like Winky and some of the others do need more. That is why I am different."

Harry blinked repeatedly because Dobby was just so articulate right now. "You're words are very clear to me. Why do you speak like you don't know how?"

Dobby smirked, "Many wizards do not want intelligent servants, that's why many of us speak the way we do. You are about to offer me a bond and I wanted you to know the truth. I do not want to be one who lies to you." He shrugged and then said, "Would you rather I go back to elf-speak?"

Harry shook head and clearly said, "No. I much prefer you like this. I'm relieved that much of it is an act, but the other elves... Is this just you or are the others like you? Pikki was quite articulate, but I thought that was from the modified bond with Narcissa."

Twizzler and Bobbin explained that when they bonded with the other boys, there was a change that occurred in them. Their magics interacted with their needs and that was how come they spoke the way they do now. "Didn't you notice when we began to speak normally?" Bob asked.

"I did, but I thought that it was something that you chose to do. I didn't want to comment on it because I wanted you to feel free to speak however you wanted," Harry said.

Twizzler then said, "We talked to our bonded _masters_ and discussed the differences amongst the elves and the bonds. Since the Founders in the book helped with the different type of bond that we took, they felt that some things could be changed just by changing the bond used."

"We want to be of use," Bobbin continued. "We knew that you three would need the help in the new school year and we don't want to be left behind or forced to bond with Wizards that don't respect the work we do. We have observed you and Draco, when it was just you and him at the house. You were always polite and thanked us for the work we did in gathering Draco's things."

"We were impressed that you never once put down the work we did," Twizz said and then he asked curiously, "Why are _you_ like that?"

Harry took his time to explain that he had basically grown up working like a house-elf and knew what it was like. Draco and Coba had made their way up by this time and were listening to Harry's story. He was telling them about the cleaning and cooking that he had to do since a very young age. He told them that he knew what it was like to not be loved and to be thought of as only a burden. He went into many details and answered the questions that they all had.

Once the story was told, it was clear that the elves were fully aware that Harry was a rare individual who respected the hard work and effort that others put in their jobs. It certainly didn't matter how he was raised because he had already gained the respect the Gringotts Goblins.

The twins had been contemplating on two hired hands to work the gardens and the grounds, but never brought them up because they were goblins. After hearing the story, they mentioned them and the boys agreed that if the Goblins could be sworn to keep their secrets and that gardening was truly the work that they enjoyed doing and wanted to do, there was no problem in hiring them.

Harry turned to Dobby and asked, "Do you want be bound again? I would not ask you to bond to me like the way you were with your previous master, but if you want to be bound in a modified form like these two, I'm sure that the Founders will have another type available to suite the both of us."

Dobby's eyes shone with the hope that Harry wanted the bond, but he was also thinking of poor Winky, who was still unbound. "Do you really wish to bond with Dobby?"

"Honestly," Harry said. "No. I don't want any house-elf to be bound to me, but I can see that this is something that you want and I have been told that I do need someone to look after me when I'm on my own. I would much rather have you as a friend that I can trust, but if you feel that a bond is required between us then I will agree to it and will not make a fuss."

Dobby's eyes had tears in them, he knew that a house-elf needed some bond in order to guarantee secracy. He didn't know of one that allowed a friendship bond, but Coba had pulled out the Founders' book and was discussing the situation with them. "Harry, sir," Dobby began. "If there is a simple bond for us, I would appreciate the choice and take it. I want to ask for Winky to be bound to this family too. She needs a family in order to grow and the school is not a place that she enjoys working. Maybe you know of a home for Winky?"

Harry thought on it and realized that Winky would probably be perfect for Molly Weasley, but he didn't know about Winky's feeling on the subject of being bound. "I would need to speak to her to know what she would want as a bond, first, before taking any action."

Draco knew where Harry's thoughts were headed and yes the Weasley matriarch would be the best solution for the unbound female house-elf. Still he knew that Harry would never place her there if that was not where she wanted to be. There was a strong chance the Winky would like to stay to look after all of the _boys_ here instead and Draco was proud that Harry was going to consider the feelings of such a little, but hard working person.

The bond that the Founders had discussed for Harry and Dobby was indeed very different from any other House-elf bond available. It was a bond of friendship and brotherhood. It would allow for Dobby's independence and for Harry to feel that he didn't have to direct Dobby's actions. They both thought on it for a while and Harry said, "I do feel a kinship to all house-elves based on my upbringing."

"I feel that I can have choices with this bond," Dobby said. "I would like it."

"I think I would too," Harry said. They then added the similar clauses like the clothing options and solutions, as well as the rate of pay, the jobs that Dobby preferred to do and a few other inconsequential things like room and board. All of those were negotiated to improve the quality of life for the House-elves living with them.

Harry and Dobby then went through the spell, saying the words that would bind them in friendship and brotherhood, with just a hint of service and all clauses were woven into it. Dobby did not have Mardi Gras beads like the others, but had a tattoo appeared on his right temple and upper right cheek.

They were interconnected runes that were written in Parseltongue and the only ones who could understand them were Harry and Voldemart. The runes basically had the Potter family motto in it, even that was modified as Harry did not know what the Potter motto was. He had chosen with Dobby a new one, which altered many of the paperwork found in the Potter vaults. It was "Famille du Coeur et Vérité sur Tous", meaning 'Family of the Heart and Truth above All'.

One of the first tasks that Harry asked Dobby to do was to match his clothing to something similar to the twins and then he had Dobby go get Winky. He needed to know what she wanted before making a decision for her. He told Dobby to take his time, as they were only going to explore the grounds and that they could take their time. He made sure that Dobby would explain everything that they had discussed here with Winky.

Dobby nodded and popped away after having looked at the way his offspring were clothed.

Coba was excited to continue to show off the areas that he had explored, but first they read the letter the Pikki had dropped off for them.

--

_My boys,_

_I am so proud of __**all**__ of you. _

_Coba, my grandson, you are free to call me whatever you. I am proud to be called Grandmother and it's now a fact that I can lord that over a certain red-headed matron that still can not manage to get her eldest son married. I am so proud that you kept your head and listened to Noiro's instructions, which allowed you to escape the notice of Lucius. Be good and do well in school._

_Draco, my precious son, I am so proud that you have made your choice and I know that once you return for your next year of school you will not be alone. I am relieved that you chose the way you did. You are a man now. Making your own decisions for the future and I just can't say this enough I am proud that you are my son._

_Noiro/Harry, my child's companion and protector, I am very proud of you too. I also know of a couple of people who are proud of you as well. You are no longer uncared for, as I have come to care for you like my very good friend Molly. You are like another son to me and I would be happy if in time you could see me as a mother like you do my friend._

_All my boys please stay safe. I do not know the location where you are now at, but I do know how that place is safe. Harry made sure of that during this summer and I hope that you will write to me often. _

_I will have portkeyed back to New Orleans by the time that you receive this, but I still want those letters, so you had better invest in a transatlantic bird for me._

_Do well in school and make sure that you add more grey hairs to Severus' head. He needs them to improve his outlook on life, that's just between you, me and this parchment. I think that Remus will be a good influence for him too. Don't let him hide or run away from it and keep me up to date on their situation._

_With all my love,_

_Mother_

--

They all smiled and Draco tucked the letter away. Coba was getting impatient to show off the barn area. He was mightily impressed with the way that Harry had set up everything, but was still curious because there were some areas that Harry had covered up.

The barn that was part of the grounds was not very big. It had been big enough to house six stalls in the centre, three facing the other three and the walls were where the equipment used to be stored. The feed for the animals was stored on the platforms above surrouding the stall area and there was a small grainery about twelve feet away from the back of the barn door.

Harry had put up a partial wall in the middle of the barn, between the connecting stalls and near cut the barn in two neat halves. On one side he altered and improved the three stalls. One stall had six cages, one top of the other for smaller animals and creatures in two rows of three. The second stall was split in half for larger creatures and the third was set up for larger horse sized creatures. The stalls were recovery areas that could be altered with magic to help ease Draco's patients.

Harry had set up an office type area on the upper platform on Draco's half and under it he set up to more stalls as examining areas and had added a secluded room for potential emergency procedures. He had acquired many emergency kits for animals, as they were not closely monitored by the education board. Seems that these kits were often sold to pet shops or just pet owners so that they may treat their pets and animals quickly and with the proper tools.

Harry had re-covered the entire floor with a heavy duty cushion floor and had reinforced it to prevent claw marks or other types of similar damage under the possible patients that Draco may have in the future.

The other side of the barn was Harry's workshop. This was where he tinkered from time to time. It was a place where he could relax for half a day and come up with a new _toy_ or a new _gadget_ or even modify old muggles ones to work in the magical areas.

He was currently trying to find a something that would allow for laptops or something similar to old typewriters in combination with the current laptop system to permit the typing of documents, rather than handwriting everything.

He was also looking for a way to store journals and notes for easy accessibility. Still he knew that some of the wizarding equivalents were just as good or better, but he wanted to improve the ones that weren't.

His workshop stalls were separated. The first was for his electronic gagetry, the second was for his wood projects and the third was for his magical tinkering. He had expanded all three stalls to allow for the size of the equipment.

Against the far wall were varying pieces of wood and furniture that were at different stages of processing. There were half finished drawers, the skeleton outline of an armoire, a headboard half carved with drawings, wires hanging from hooks in the platform above, electronic motherboards in varying stages of disassembly, coloured glass that shimmered with magic, globes that were magic floating in a confined space.

The upper level of his half was split in two. Half was part of the Owlry the he built for Hedwig and for future birds and the other half which connected with Draco's office was an office-study type area where Harry kept his notes, journals, papers etc...

Harry explained both sides of the building and Draco was so overwhelmed by the support that Harry was showing for him that he knelt down and hugged the shaggy beast. He wiped his tears into the dark mane and then everyone was pinged by the wards to let them know that someone was just outside of them.

Dobby popped in to inform them that it was just Winky out there waiting to be let in.

--

Dobby had popped back to Hogwarts and had asked Winky to accompany him away from the school for a time. She had time off, but wasn't really interested until he hinted in elf-speak that she might just get her wish. She had blinked for a moment and then performed cleaning spells on herself to improve her appearance.

She knew that he was hinting that there was possibly a family for her, but she wanted to know more and she had also not drunk anything yet for the day, therefore her mind was ready to accept whatever Dobby was going to tell her.

He took her out and to the Shrieking Shack. It was secluded and was known to have an area especially made for House-elves to speak freely and without being overheard.

He told her everything that he had learned today and had shown her the marking that he had received from his bond with the Great Harry Potter. Although now Dobby was a friend and he only call him Harry, knowing that that would please the great wizard more, then being called _Master_ or _Sir_.

Winky was shocked that Harry Potter would consider including her in his household. Then she was further shocked by Dobby's addmission that Harry would place her with the Weasley's if she wanted a _proper_ family to take care of. "Great Harry Potter, be giving Winky the choice?!" She exclaimed, the shock sending her down to elf-speak.

Dobby nodded and just waited for her to make a choice. He even told her that if she wanted to continue to work at Hogwarts that was also her choice to make.

Winky's watered and then she was crying. She was happy and decided that as a female it would be her duty to work with Harry, but that if she ever had offspring she would consider the Weasleys as a good family for them.

--

The two elves from Hogwarts popped back to Harry's location, but Winky was stopped outside the wards. She was worried, but Dobby told her to wait. It didn't take long. Harry in lion form instructed Draco on how to add new people to the wards. He needed to know that for when the twin elves returned with the gardeners.

Winky stepped through and was pleasantly surprised at the size of the house. It was just big enough to require staff, but was small enough for the staff to be known to the _masters_. She saw two identical house-elves standing next to a small boy with a grey-green snake around his neck.

She saw a tall blonde haired man talking to a dark maned lion and was shocked again when the lion talked back. She didn't know what was more shocking. The fact that the blonde was one of Dobby's old masters or that the lion was speaking like a human.

Winky stared wide eyed and waited to see if the lion was interested in elf meat, but seeing that Dobby and the other two were not affected, she turned to look at the lion once more and realized that it was more that it seemed.

The lion walked up to her and then sat down in front of her, saying, "Hello Winky. It's nice to see you again."

"Harry Potter, sir?" She questioned the great cat.

Harry nodded his head and said, "I'm an animagus. In any of my forms outside of this place, I am called Noiro, but here I'm just Harry. I trust that Dobby has spoken to you?"

She looked at all of them, nodded and then told them of her preferences. "If Harry Potter will let me be bound like the others, then I want to stay here. I can not in good conscience let you lot run around without a positive female influence."

Harry gave a lionish grin, a rumble laugh and then said, "Let's go back to the house and find out what kind of bond you would prefer to have."

The Founders, after discussing it with Winky, found that she would take well to a household bond. Meaning that the bond would be flexible depending on the member of the household she bonded with. The household bond also allowed her to bond with the individuals on a looser connection then that of the twin house-elves or that of Dobby's, but still allowed her to have some independence and her own choices of work.

The clauses were drawn up, just like the others, between each boy and then the bond phrases were said. It was one very happy female house-elf that commandeered the kitchens and promised to teach a very happy Coba how to successfully cook.

--

Several days later, Draco had finished his studies and went out to seek Harry for a talk. He eventually found him tinkering in his workshop. He waited until there was a safe time to speak and then got his attention.

"Harry," he said. "Are you nearly done?"

Harry sensed that Draco wanted to speak to him for a while now. He finished up what he was doing and Draco suggested a picnic on the grounds. He had gone to Winky to request a basket and saw that his son was learning about the herbs in the gardens with the two hired hands.

--

The hired hands were a youngish goblin couple and they had wanted to do something that they loved instead of falling into the Banking business like the other goblins. They were quiet and had asked for the old grainery to be their quarters. Harry and Draco had magically moved the building to a secluded area near the edge of the woods, as they had requested.

The goblins formed a bond with the land and property, as well as with the boys. It was a landlord-tenant bond that allowed the tenant to work the land and allowed the landlord to reap the shared benefits. It was not like they couldn't afford to pay the gardeners out right, but there was protection the bond and it allowed the hired hands gain a stronger protection from the landlord.

It was acceptable to Harry and Draco. Their little household was growing.

--

Now Draco wanted to discuss something important with Harry. The made their way in the field and settled down under a beach umbrella, that Winky had provided for them.

Draco poured the tea, while Harry waited. Whatever was on the dragon's mind, would come out eventually.

Draco gulped a bit and then began. "Harry...There were so many things on my mind that I neglected to thank you for the clinic." He gulped again. "I also know how much work you placed in the house and grounds..." He looked into the green eyes that were staring into his own, he faltered. He wanted to thank him, but he also wanted to move their relationship forward and was not quite sure how to approach the subject.

They had shared kisses, soft touches here and there. They spent hours together cuddling and getting comfortable the physical presence of the other. The did eventually reveal their scars and had taken combined showers together, but they had never pushed beyond a touch here and a touch there and, of course, some wonderful bouts of fully clothed snogging and frotage.

Draco felt that he wanted more and was ready for that more with Harry. He didn't know that Harry felt the same way. There they were staring into one another's eyes and then they moved as one towards the other.

Harry cupped the pale face in his hands, tilted his head and proceeded to give the most heated kisses to the dragon.

Draco's hands cupped Harry's for a moment and then slid down to clutch at the shirt and chest in front of him. Harry pulled the blonde towards him and held him tightly against his body. Coming up for air he said breathlessly, "Are you sure?"

Draco clung even more and replied, "Yes, I'm sure. I want you. The dreams are not enough. I want you and I want to be with you."

"I feel that I should warn you," Harry began. "If we do this, I'm apt to be very protective and possessive. I am not familiar with some aspects of a relationship and I want to warn you that I might foul up from time to time."

"I expect that both of us will foul up from time to time, but I know that we have a better understanding of one another and we can succeed in this," Draco said.

Harry held him tight and then released him in order to change their seated positions. He leaned back and pulled Draco into his lap. "There are many things that we will discuss before we begin anything and I have some books that I want you to look through tonight. I don't want you to do anything that you would feel uncomfortable with and I want you to know what I'm not comfortable with doing."

Draco nodded, "We do need to discuss this, but I think that it can wait until we are getting ready for bed tonight." He looked at Harry through his long blonde lashes and said, "How about we go to bed a little earlier tonight?"

Harry laughed and was amazed at the sexiness of that proposal. He kissed the dragon soundly and said, "That sounds like a very good plan to me."

--

**TBC…**


	15. September First Fiasco

Disclaimer, Author's Notes, & Warnings: SEE PROLOGUE

Disclaimer, Author's Notes, & Warnings: SEE PROLOGUE

**LEGEND:**

"Normal Talk"

'_Thoughts or Emphasis_'

(...Parseltongue...)

--

Chapter Fourteen - September First Fiasco

--

By August 31st, Harry and Draco were now officially a couple in every sense of the word.

The day that they had discussed their interest in changing their relationship was a good starting off point. Harry had surprised Draco with a present of books, with explanations and instructions about the proper way to proceed with sex between the two of them. Then he presented an option or path in which to develop their physical relationship. They would begin learning to be comfortable in their own skin and the reactions they evoked in each other.

The night of the picnic they started with touch, lots of touching and petting. The brushing of hands and lips against skin. Of course it helped to ease their discomfort about being naked in from of each other, to have decided to shower together. It allowed them to have time and some laughter and fun too. It was soon followed by other types of caressing and that led them to becoming a full out couple.

They didn't hide their affections with one another and even Coba was happy for them. They weren't planning on hiding their relationship from the school either. They discussed this and they made all of their plans accordingly. Even Coba was included in some of the havoc that they would be creating and didn't mind at all, he was actually looking forward to it.

The boys had all received their letters for upcoming school year, even Coba, who was so happy that he kept pestering the other two to go shopping for his wand, some more books and other things, despite having purchased a lot through Owl Order during their holiday.

Draco's house was connected to the Floo Network with the help of the goblins at Gringotts. Harry Potter and The Malfoys were a rich clients, but when Harry talks they all listen. Especially now that he's been emancipated and luckily with emancipation Harry was entitled to access all of his accounts and properties, including Sirius Black's.

When he went to set up the Floo Network connection, he realized that Draco's new home had no name, so he found one. Harry had been thinking about it for some time and then looked up a particular name in the Floo Directory to see if it had been or is currently in use. Luckily it wasn't, so the boys were now the proud residents of '_Dragon's Hearth_'.

Draco was very familiar with the Floo Network settings and service options, so he requested the highest security available, which meant that they paid to only allow a few people through. Any others that tried to floo to their home, even by accident, would be re-directed to a service that helped to prevent any invasion of their privacy.

It's a very useful service that was often used by known famous people and the bonus was that it was run by a variety of magical races with a reputation for '_Zero Tolerance_' to those invading the privacy of their clients. The re-directed person had one chance and then they were fined in increments depending on the number of times that they decided to disturb the clients of this particular service.

Harry learned through the last two weeks of their summer vacation that he had inherited a lot of things from Sirius, including No. 12 Grimmauld Place. He didn't want it and decided to allow the Order of the Phoenix to hold their meetings their, as long as the Order did not try to recruit him. This was a condition that Dumbledore was not aware of just yet.

On August 31st the boys packed up and made plans to go to France to shop in the "_Chemin sous Notre Dame_", in order to pick up Coba's wand. They needed to buy two new owls, one for Coba and one for Draco, and a transatlantic bird.

It was Harry's idea and his gift to both of them for school. He told them how Hagrid bought Hedwig, as a birthday gift, but also a gift for his first year of school. He figured that it was a nice tradition for any family unit to have.

Harry allowed them to pick out their own birds and was surprised when Draco picked out a very small pygmy owl. It was a Pearl-Spotted Owlet and a little less than seven inches (20cm) tall. She was a little stocky, with a longish tail. The upper-side is a very rich brown and heavily spotted with white speckles. The under-side is white with brown streaks. Her facial disc is white and the eyes were yellow, also it had two eyespots on the nape of its neck.

Draco named her Valentine. He always wanted to call an owl by that name because it suited the frivolous, romatic side of his nature.

Coba chose the opposite. He picked out a Great Horned Owl, which is a very large bird. Its length was about a foot and a half long, but his wingspan was at least four times that. He had large ear tufts with a reddish face and a white patch on the throat and yellow eyes. The ear tufts were not actually ears, but just tufts of feathers that looked like ears or _horns_. It was a mottled reddish-brown bird with the leg and feet covered in feathers up to the talons.

He wanted to name it Hairy as a joke against his Pops, but found that the name Vulcan really suited it much better.

The boys did find and buy a transatlantic bird for sending letters to Draco's mother. This bird was the Wizarding World's version of an Oriental White Stork. A regular muggle Oriental White Stork is a very huge white bird, its height was about forty-five plus inches (115cm) tall, with black wing feathers, a long sharp black bill and long red legs, plus there is red-skin around the eyes and the eyes have a whitish iris. It can also fly up to a distance of 474 000 kilometres squared.

The muggle species is an "Endangered" species, but the Wizarding one from the magical world, is bred for long distance flights, up to a distance of over 800 000 kilometres squared. The only difference in the birds are the eyes and height, as the Wizarding version has varying irises from dark blue to light blue with legs to match. They grow to approximately fifty to fifty-four inches (127cm to 138cm) tall. They found her in the back of the store and all agreed on the name of Atlantis for her, since that would be the main distance of her travels.

Getting Coba's wand was a different experience as the wandmakers had to make his wand from scratch. It didn't take long, but it was a different experience for Harry and Draco. That's when they both decided to get their primary wands tested to see if they had the best match for them and it turns out that they could have another wand more in tune to their inner magics.

Since there was no one stopping them and Draco knew for a fact that his own godfather had at least three wands on him at all times, it was going to be to their advantage to have more then one. Especially one that was more in tune to them, making their magics more powerful because there was increased control. It also solved Harry's problem with the connecting '_brother_' wands he had with Voldemort.

They were all happy to purchase last minute essentials for school and with Harry's quick thinking and Draco's sense of style, they stayed at a hotel that was just off of Diagon Alley. It was in a fancier area away from the Leaky Cauldron, but also it was a very safe one. It was close enough for them to be able to catch a taxi and get to King's Cross station for September 1st. Plus they were able to avoid any possible confrontation with Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger.

--

Draco showed Coba how to get onto Platform nine and three quarters, as Harry was currently nestled in one of the Dragon's multipledeep pockets, as the cute little Noiro.

He then guided his son onto the train and into a likely compartment that seemed to contain a couple of first years. To be polite though he asked, "Are you lot all first years?"

Getting various answers all of which arrived to the same conclusion of yes, he then gently nudged Coba into the compartment and told him to, "Go… Make friends."

A typical fatherly like phrase, but it was something that Coba was happy to hear. Draco then said, "I have a prefects' meeting, but I will check up on you later." He ruffled Coba's hair and then left, shutting the door behind him.

"OK." Coba said with a smile at his _Dad_. He then turned to look at his traveling companions. There were three other first years in the car with him, a boy and two girls.

"Hello," he said, sitting down next to the brown haired boy. "My name's Coba Draconus, what are you guys?"

One of the girls looked at him and said, "That guy that brought you here was Draco Malfoy, wasn't he?"

"Yes, but that still doesn't tell me who you are?"

She blushed a little realizing the she'd forgotten her manners. Her mother would've skinned her alive for forgetting something that basic. "I'm sorry. My name is Rose Parkinson, that's Arianna Zabini and next to you is Nazir Makoub." She pointed to the others as she named them.

Arianna was dark haired girl with exotic Italian looks, quietly observing the others. The boy next to Coba had a darker complexion and seemed to also be a quiet type. Rose took after her own family and was pale skinned and blonde haired, but she too was just a nervous first year.

"Why did Draco Malfoy show you in here?" Rose asked again.

"He was just concerned about me," he said. "He was the one who helped me onto the Platform and he even helped me with my luggage." He showed the match box size of his trunk that he pulled from his pocket. He put it up on the luggage rack above and they watched as it expanded to fill that space.

"Cool," Nazir said. "I hope that I can do that by the end of the year. My trunk was heavy. Hey isn't Malfoy a Dark Wizard and a Death Eater?" Nazir asked and then flushed when they all turned to look at him. "That's what all the adults around me have been saying."

Arianna nodded, "That's what my cousin Blaise says all the time, too."

Coba turned the tables on all of them by saying, "I heard that the entire Parkinson family was in service to Voldermort. Plus from what Draco told me about Pansy Parkinson, it seems that she's very eager to get the Dark Mark. I also heard that the Zabini family were neutral, but had Dark leanings and sometimes aided the Death Eaters." He paused in his rant, looking at the darker boy next to him and the said, "I haven't heard anything about the Makoubs."

Rose was ashamed of those Parkinsons. She was just a distant cousin whose family had no association with the relatives that followed the Dark Lord and that's what she told everyone. "My family are not close to those Parkinsons and if I had a choice I would change my last name as fast as I possibly could. They want me to model myself after Pansy, but I hate her." She said.

"Well now you see why I'm not judging Draco Malfoy," Coba said. "Besides the only Malfoy that I know with the Dark Mark is his father, not Draco. Haven't you heard that his father and some others had escaped from Azkaban? Draco and his mum had to run away from their Manor because of it."

"No, I didn't know," Arianna said. "My parents don't want me to read the news papers. They say that more then half the stories they print are false. So I choose to read the Quibbler because they actually had a true interview once with Harry Potter and he sounded more interesting then the garbage that the Prophet turns out. How did you find out? Was it in the papers?"

Nazir responded to the questions as best he knew, "I hate the Prophet too. It reminds me of those gossip rags that are always found in supermarket counters in the Muggle World. Still it did have a little bit about the escape. Not enough to tell us how though. Just like the time with Sirius Black."

"You know about the Muggle World," Rose said excitedly. "Tell me, please? Who cares about Black? I heard that he died, so he's not likely to come after Harry Potter anymore."

Cobe shook his head. "I heard that Sirius Black was innocent. It's too bad that he died. I think I would've liked to have known him, especially from the things that I heard about him. You're right about the Prophet being like those magazines though."

It wasn't long before Nazir and Coba were telling the girls about the differences in the Muggle vs the Wizarding Worlds. They changed topics in the blink of an eye when the topic became too serious for their level of understanding. Coba made sure to re-direct the talk to simple, childhood like things that they would understand like toys, pranks and games.

The boys had even pulled out pens, pencils and lined notebooks to show the girls what they would be writing with instead of a quill pen, ink and parchment for note taking in class. The schoolwork that needed to be handed in would be done in the '_accepted_' manner, so as to not shock the Professors. But they didn't have to put up with the Wizarding version of notebooks for their own notes. It would have been too messy.

They were so caught up in their conversation that they were all startled when the door to their compartment opened and an irritated Draco handed a black hissing fur-ball to Coba. "Look after him for me will you? He attacked another Prefect, but refused to settle down after I told him enough was enough."

"Sure," Coba said taking the kitten in his hands. "Noiro stop that. Who did he attack?" He asked curiously.

Draco's eyes twinkled, even if he was looking a little miffed because of the situation. The kids weren't fooled. It looked like he enjoyed what happened. "Pansy Parkinson," he said with a grin. "That's the second time that he's saved me from her clutches, but I still need to be able to concentrate on the instructions from the Head Boy and quite frankly with that girl shrieking every time Noiro swipes a paw at her... Well, it's best that he's not around for the remainder of the meeting," he said with a wink to all of them and returned to the Prefect car.

Noiro settled down after a bit and was happy to note that his son was able to make some friends during the trip to the school. He curled in his lap and let the conversation wash over him, as the children talked excitedly about the fact that the Draco Malfoy was happy that Pansy was put in her place.

The candy trolly eventually came by and they each took something that they could share with the others. Coba and Nazir even pulled out a bit of their muggle candies to share with the girls, who enjoyed the differences. Soon, though, it was time to get into their school robes.

The door to their compartment was opened again, but this time it was opened by a bushy haired Prefect looking for someone. Not really seeing them in the compartment, she closed the door again without a word to the first years. "That was strange," Arianna said.

The others nodded and were preparing to leave, when they noticed that Coba was putting the little black kitten into one of his pockets. "Why..." Nazir began.

Coba placed an index finger to his mouth, closed one eye in a conspiratorial wink and said, "Shh..."

The other three knew that something was up and that it looked like it was going to be fun. Although Arianna did ask in a whisper, "Whatever it is, it's not going to hurt anyone is it?" She knew better then to ask about any other kind of hurt because emotionally someone could always be hurt, no matter what happened.

Coba shook his head, "No," he whispered back and the rest all sighed in relief.

They headed towards the docks and soon they experienced the marvel of traveling towards the school in the dark of the night with the lights warming their way to their new, temporary home for the next few months.

It didn't take long to get there nor did it take that long for Professor McGonagall to go through her speech about the houses. Finally they were being led between the Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff tables in the Great Hall to be sorted.

All the first years were nervous and many saw the old battered hat sitting on the stool. They watched as Professor McGonagall lifted it for show and set it back down in order to be able to give her welcoming speech and then everyone in the Great Hall waited for the Hat's next crazy song.

Now since Coba was carrying Noiro, he had managed to be in the lead of the new students and once the hat was lifted he tapped his pocket gently. Unnoticed by anyone a small shadow detached itself from him and made it onto the stool under the hat. Then the form of a small black kitten with twinkling green eyes, disappeared under it.

Only Nazir, Rose and Arianna were aware of it because they were all close to Coba and when they all turned to look at him, he hands behind his back in a casual manner, looking away and whistling. Not wanting to draw too much attention to themselves they turned their focus back to the Hat and Professor McGongall, waiting for its famous song to begin.

Professor McGonagall was worried when she didn't see Harry Potter among the students, but Professor Snape had assured her that the boy did want to be re-sorted at the beginning of the year. She didn't think that the Headmaster would allow it, but after hearing the explanation for it and having received a very sincere letter from the boy, she agreed to allow the re-sort.

Seems that Harry had convinced Professor Snape that his was the house that he would be sorted into and therefore had gained the Potions Master's permission for the change. Although Harry still had to show up and be sorted first before the first years, unfortunately it looked like he missed his chance.

The Sorting Hat began its song:

"_Oh, I might seem old and tattered,_

_Past my prime and really battered,_

_Pay heed my children all,_

_It's time to answer a hunter's call..._"

Suddenly the hat cut off his song, pausing as though listening to someone and then it began to laugh. It laughed long and hard. If the Hat had a body with arms it would be clutching its stomach and bent over howling with laughter.

Everyone in the Great Hall was looking at it in shock, as it had never once shown that much emotion. They were all wondering just what was going on, when the hat seemed to settle down.

Professor Dumbledore had a bad feeling about this because never in the history of Hogwarts that he knows, has this ever happened before. But he couldn't stop it, not once the Hat began to talk.

"It's all right my children and Professors," it said calming down a bit and nodding to the concerned adults. "Very well…" It sighed with a small chuckle. "Against my better judgment, I will speak plainly."

It still chuckled every now and then, but continued on. "I was created to sort all the magical children who come to this institute to learn. You need to know that all of the houses are the same. There is no difference between one or another. It was just a way to sort those with similar dispositions so that it would be easier to assimilate you into this school that is all.

Ravenclaw may be the home of the studious, but by now most of you should have realized that studiousness is not the be all and end all of that house. Those that believe that Rowena Ravenclaw was only interested in gaining knowledge have it wrong. She was a scrapper and got into fights all the time. She believed in learning from the past, but also in creating new things, like spells, potions, even new ways to fight duals, among other things… She was also a very gifted Seer and saw this school growing…

Hufflepuff may be known as the home of the loyal, the hardworking and perhaps the naïve and slow, but that is not necessarily the truth about that house or her either. I'll have you know that Helga Hufflepuff could be ruthless and prone to acts of bravery or foolishness to an alarming degree. She was also very sneaky because she took her time in order to get revenge on anybody who she felt wronged her or those she considered family.

Gryffindor, ah the home of the brave. That's what you all think, however it was originally home to those with courage and those who wanted to become knights of the realm. Bravery and courage are _not_ the same as many of you may eventually learn later in life. Godric Gryffindor was a full knight and he followed the strict guidelines that came with being one. It meant, helping _all_ of those in need no matter who they were or whether they were good or bad. It did not mean that he didn't think about the outcomes of such confrontations and he certainly never rushed in foolishly or without thought.

Slytherin house has falling to such a sad state for so many years that the true nature of the conflict is muddled and lost. Salazar Slytherin may have been ambitious, but that was never at the cost of another life. He respected every life that came to this school, including those that were known as muggleborn. His only wish was that they be integrated sooner into our Magical world and not just at a junction in their life where they are only beginning to understand how to make far reaching decisions for their future."

It paused a moment and then continued, "My new children, I sort only based on what I see within you. You are young now, but you know that you have already developed some traits that will help you in the future. Most children do not know where they would fit in when they first arrive and most times they are influenced outside factors, like parents' and siblings' expectations.

I charge _**you**_ new ones to look inside yourselves and see... and question... and know... in your own hearts where you'd be happiest. Do you charge ahead? Do you aid when needed? Do you do what needs to be done, even if it is distasteful? Do you work hard towards your goals? Do you do the minimum work before play? Do you prefer to play before work? Do you study and persevere towards the ends that you want? Are you a knight? Are you patient? Are you studious? Are you ambitious? These and many more questions are answered when I am placed on your heads.

However, if you do not wish me to sort you, then I charge you to sort yourselves into the houses you believe that you'd prefer to live with rather then to fit into. Look at the houses and remember what I've just told you. Now is the time for all of you to make a choice. The Darkness rises and you must be ready to the best of your own abilities. This is your time and your choice. No one else's ideals should be placed before your own."

Everyone was surprised when the hat didn't rhyme or give a verse. They were further shocked to see one of the first years stand up on the stage and turn to look at all of the houses. It was like he was judging for himself where he wanted to go.

Coba looked at the Slytherins and knew that he could go there because his parents were in there and they would protect him. Still he wanted them to focus on what needed to be done so he may not choose to be placed in there, but forget about the Gryffindors because once Harry was re-sorted he knew that they would cause him some problems because of it. He saw the pre-venom in the redheaded boy's eyes and knew that if they ever found out about him, they would make his life miserable.

So his best choices were between Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff. Sure he was thirsting for knowledge, but he did want a friendly atmosphere. So it was between the two of those houses that he would choose from.

He stepped down and told his three new friends what he did and why. The other first years listened in and began to whisper amongst them-selves, thinking about it. They too looked at the members of the houses and saw many of the same things. They had all heard about the fights between Gryffindor and Slytherin and they knew that they were probably going to have to choose another house if they truly wanted peace. However, there were a few that were ready to go exactly where they believed they should go.

Many had their choices narrowed down by the questions that the Hat posed. Many of the other first followed Coba's lead and thought hard about the houses and everything that had been revealed about the founders of the school.

Arianna, Nazir and Rose all stood up and noticed everything that he did and they too did not want to be in Gryffindor or Slytherin, so decided to have the help of the hat for their final sort. They whispered amongst themselves saying that hopefully they would remain friends. Even if they happened to be sorted differently, then maybe they could form study groups together.

The sorting hat had been muttering throughout this, as though it was in the middle of a conversation.

"Now let's see the first student to be sorted belongs to SLYTHERIN." It shouted out loud, causing many people to look startled, shocking Professor McGonagall and most of the other Professors.

"But I called no student," Professor McGonagall said, positive that there was no student under there.

All of a sudden, the body of a young man appeared from under the hat, with a huge smile on his face. The students watched in astonishment because the robes had a Gryffindor crest on it and soon there was active murmuring and charged whispers going around the Great Hall.

"Who could it be?"

"I didn't know anyone wanted to be re-sorted."

"Is this even possible?"

"From Gryffindor to Slytherin?"

On and on the whispers went when the student under the hat lifted it to reveal none other the Harry Potter, the Boy-Who-Lived, Gryffindor Golden Boy, etc, etc..., sitting there calm as you please and smirking at having pulled one over on the school. His eyes were sparking with mischief.

However, predictably the loudest yell came from the Gryffindor table and from one jealous Weasley. "**I knew it… You are a bloody Death Eater… You… You… Traitor…**" Ron shouted across the Great Hall, causing everyone to stop whispering and talking.

Harry just looked at him. His eyes shadowed for a moment and then he just shook his head and calmly stated, "Believe what you will. I already know what you think of me and frankly I am _**not**_ surprised, but I'm warning you my _**ex**_-friend. Slander me and I will be bringing you up on charges against my good name."

He then pulled up his sleeves and exposed his arms. "I am not afraid to show anyone who asks if I have the Dark Mark or not. Just don't ask during class because the Professors wouldn't like it, but be sure that _**you**_ can freely prove the same in return."

Soon all whispers died again, as they watched the young man bow to his old Head of House and taking her hand gallantly kissed it, thanking her for allowing the re-sort. He walked over to the Head of Slytherin House and bowed to him thanking him for allowing him into the Snake House.

Professor Snape stood up, pulled out his wand and pointed it at Harry. Everyone held their breath and waited to see if Potter would be hexed, but the Professor only changed the crest on Harry's robes to that of Slytherin.

Everyone watched the ex-Gryffindor walk up to the front of the Slytherin table, jump up and change in mid-air into his black Persian kitten form, landing on the table. They all watched as the kitten ran towards a certain blond haired, silver-eyed Slytherin at the other end.

The kitten came to a stop in front of his Slytherin and the dark green eyes of the kitten glared at Pansy Parkinson, who currently had her arms entangled within one of Draco's. He swiped a clawed paw at her just like he did on the train to get to school.

She shrieked in terror at the kitten, not fully accepting that it was Potter, who always attacked her every time she clung to Draco. Harry kept hissing and swiping at her that she lost all control of her rage and grabbed a fork from table and began stabbing in the direction of the little black kitten, who dodged every attempt.

"Accio Noiro," Draco said, summoning the kitten away from Pansy's murderous hackings.

"Miss Parkinson," Professor Snape snarled at her. "Control yourself… You are dangerously close to expulsion for attempted murder."

"Murder," she screeched. "It's just a cat. A _bloody_… _demon_… cat that I will kill once I get my hands on it."

Harry then morphed into his semi-kitten, mini-demon form and scowled at her from Draco's lap. He knew that Draco thought him cute that way because he only came up to his knees. He glared at her and crossed his arms and said, "Just a cat. Well I like that. Haven't you ever heard of an Animagus before? Geez," he said, turning to look up at Draco. "I thought you were kidding about her lack of intelligence, you know her being in Slytherin and all… Well, that shows me up for doubting you. Guess I owe you that potion now."

He paused a moment and then pulled out his wand, pointing it at the disheveled girl, who was breathing hard and still clutching the fork in her hand like a weapon. "I believe that you're in my seat," he said, grinning at her with the sharp pointed kitten teeth. He half muttered and half hissed a spell at her, causing her to be displaced at the table. She found that she was now sitting between Crabbe and Goyle, who both looked like they wanted to get away from her.

Harry then looked at Draco and asked, "Couldn't you have found a seat away from her?"

The Slytherin Prince just grinned down at his lover and placed him in the now vacated seated. It was so cute with the way the pointed ears were the only things you saw peeping above the table. He chuckled at the sight and just said, "I tried, but you better change back and I don't want to find cat hair in my food."

Harry just humphed, but was grinning cheekily. He returned to his full human self, grinning at the other Slytherins. He did a quick clean up spell to vanish any cat hair that might have fallen onto their empty plates said, "Sorry about that."

He turned attention back to the first years being sorted and hoped that Coba knew in his heart that neither he nor Draco would think any less of him for choosing a house other then Slytherin or Gryffindor.

The others at the Slytherin table watched the whole of the exchange with curiosity. Potter didn't look like he didn't want to be there. In fact if they understood the situation correctly, he had requested the re-sort.

Meanwhile, some of the first years were choosing to sit at a house table rather than sit under the sorting hat. Before they did so, they walked up to the hat and told the Hat their name and which house they were going to. Knowing that re-sorting later was available, based on the example that Harry Potter just did, they figured that maybe after a couple of years they will let the Hat do its job.

The Hat chuckled and said, "Granted," to each first year the moved to sit with a house. It looks liked Potter has just made a new rule to be followed within Hogwarts. It was currently being written in the by-laws and in '_Hogwarts: A History_'.

--

_Any first year, can choose to sit and begin their first year with whatever house they choose. Their choice is permanent until officially sorted. Any student __**housed**__ in this method can choose to be officially sorted at anytime during their school career at "Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry". The official sorting is to be enacted only on every September 1st following the student's entry._

_Once sorted by the official mechanism, as set out in the beginning with the Founders. Meaning of official mechanism: '__**using the created device: A Sorting Hat**__'. The student will then be permanently placed in the house list for the rest of their scholastic career at Hogwarts._

_Should the student never use the official sorting mechanism, then the house that they finish their N.E.W.T.S with will be their permanent house of record, until such a time as they need to be officially sorted. This will be specific for cases of employment at "Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry", only._

--

Such a change in the law of the school usually went through several channels, but this is a case of the founders' creation taking precedent. The Sorting Hat is an official part of the school and this is the first time that it had ever re-written the sorting clause, which was perfectly within its right to do, due to the magics used in the creation of the Sorting Hat.

However, because it has never happened during the long years since it had been created, it wasn't prepared for the consequence of sorting a magical being of Coba's nature.

--

**TBC…**

**Author's Note:** Yikes, I know, I know, it's a cliffie. But don't worry the next chapter is under way.

I just thought that you all might like to have a pressie before summer starts, just like with my other story "See What". I am definitely continuing this story, I just happen to know it will take a little longer than my other one to get chapters out for now.

Hope you enjoy, what's written so far.

Lil Nezumi


	16. Tinker Magic on the Go

Disclaimer, Author's Notes, & Warnings: SEE PROLOGUE

Disclaimer, Author's Notes, & Warnings: SEE PROLOGUE

**LEGEND:**

"Normal Talk"

'_Thoughts or Emphasis_'

(...Parseltongue...)

--

Chapter Fifteen – Tinker Magic on the Go

--

Many of the first years had been sorted and Coba waited a bit in order to see where his new first year friends chose to go. Nazir chose to sit with Hufflepuff, without trying on the Hat. Rose, tried on the Hat, but argued for her placement because she didn't want to go to Slytherin, so she was placed in Ravenclaw. Arianna chose to sit at the Ravenclaw table for the time being.

Coba decided that he needed the help of the Hat because he couldn't see himself sitting at just any table. So he waited to be last and then chose to be sorted by the Hat. Once it was on his head, something within the Hat changed. He didn't hear one voice like Harry and Draco told him. He heard four distinct voices arguing his placement.

He argued back saying that he didn't want to be placed in Gryffindor or Slytherin because of the conflict surrounding his parental guardians. That's when they looked into his mind and found out about Harry and Draco.

They also knew that he had the book called "_Our Scholastic Beginnings_" in his possession. He explained how it came into his possession. He then told the voices that if they didn't decide between either Hufflepuff or Ravenclaw that he would remove the Hat and sit wherever he wanted.

The students in the Great Hall were watching this sorting with interest because he was taking so long.

Harry had his own suspicions about what was happening. Then there was an odd feeling in the magics of the school that caused him to stand up and run to the stage, place one hand on the Hat and one on Coba's shoulder by instinct.

Harry soon was connected to the magical essence in the fabric of the Hat. He knew that it was about to break apart at the seams. Everyone in Great Hall could see magical light coming from the seams, first as a small outline, but getting brighter the longer the Hat stayed on Coba's head.

"Quiet the lot you," he said loudly to the voices within. "Coba needs to be placed… I know that he would be an asset to any house, but why are you fighting… No, he was allowed to choose, we have not decided anything for him… No, he chose us as his guardians freely without coercion… Godric if you accuse me of this one more time, I will let the Sorting Hat rip apart and then you'll all be sorry."

At this pronouncement, the voices noticed that Harry was using an old form of 'Tinker's Magic' to keep the Hat together. They knew that the half-elf would be an asset to any house and they all wanted him in theirs.

Coba's elfin essence had triggered something in the complicated magics of the Hat. Its magics were near exhausted due to the changes it made in the sorting laws just done recently. The changes in the laws had weakened the Hat to the point where it could not completely handle Coba's strange and powerful magical core.

The voices then decided to agree that Coba's choice should be his own and therefore Coba was released from the demands of the sorting magics. Unfortunately the magics in the Hat were so disturbed that there was nearly nothing that anyone could do to fix this problem, except maybe Harry.

Harry took the Hat and placed it on his head with both hands to hold it in place. The magic used in the old days to create it was different from the confined magic that the Magical World was now using. However, Harry was naturally instinctive with his own magic and the magic around him.

"Professors," he said to all those watching the situation. "Please excuse me for the remainder of the evening while I repair the damage to the Hat. I must go to a secure location right now or else the magical backlash will harm someone."

He moved towards the Great Hall doors only to find that they had been shut to prevent him from leaving. "I'm sorry Mr. Potter, but I can not permit you to leave with such a meager explanation," Headmaster Dumbledore said. "Nor can you leave with our Sorting Hat either."

"You will let him go, if you don't want to lose the Sorting Hat or cause harm to anyone in this Hall," Coba said out loud. "The Hat's magics are ripping at the seams and Harry is the only one who can sort it out."

"It is very admirable of you to think so Mr…," and that's when the Headmaster realized that Coba never announced his house nor declare his name before the Sorting Hat.

"My name is Coba Draconus Potter and I will sit with Hufflepuff," he said clearly for the Hat to hear, hoping that it would help the four voices within the Hat to calm down.

"Granted," a female voice said from the Hat. It was a voice which none of the others in the Hall had ever heard before, coming from the Hat. The only exception was Coba and his new family.

Suddenly the doors to the Great Hall were opened and Harry ran out, hoping to reach the '_Room of Requirement_' in time. Using the wheels he acquired this summer, he sped through the stone corridors, up some stairs and zipped three times in front of the Room of Requirement in order to get the door open.

Once through the door, Harry removed the Hat from his head and let the inner contents fall. There was, of course, the sword of Godric Gryffindor, next was a yellow-green wand made from the last '_Life Tree_', whose only known location in the Founders time had been in the direct centre of the Black Forrest. This was followed by a very large blue crystal ball, made of an unknown gem, and a mid-sized journal book of incomplete potion recipes, in a foreign language... well not that foreign to Harry.

Harry looked at items sadly and then '_Accioed_' the books that he had found that summer with Professor Snape. He needed the cameos and a point of reference, which could only found in the one called '_Our Scholastic Beginnings_'. There was no other source known at the school that contained the information on the creation and repair of the '_sorting mechanism_', but Harry would try his best to fix it with what he knew.

The items that fell out of the Hat were the tools used to maintain the Sorting criteria of the founders. Well that not all, it was the items plus some of the Founder's original magics, part of the magics use to create the Houses in the school and part of the magics in the land tying the school to it. That's what the Founders' cameos told him.

It was hideously complicated at the time, but it only took Harry a few moments to figure out some compensatory method of repairing the Hat. However, he knew that it would take quite some time and energy to mend it so that it could still continue with its original function, to sort the students for which it was created.

The Founders knew that in time the Hat may have needed to be repaired, but never after such an expense in its magics. Creatures or beings like Coba should have been attending Hogwarts since the inception of the school. The Hat would have had no troubles handling those magical cores and changing the Laws of Sorting at the same time.

However, since such a lapse of time had passed there were only very few people with large magical cores or _different_ magical cores. The Hat was stretched beyond its current capabilities and therefore a near breaking of it had almost happened.

It was just a fluke that everything happened today, but it did sadden the Founders to realize that their school was no longer accommodating people like Coba. Harry told them that he suspected that the reason for that was that they were either hiding or no longer in existence.

Harry gently pulled a thread from the castle's magical weave like instructed, ensuring that it belonged to the essence known for the Sorting Hat and a link to the actual Houses. He then used the wand from the Hat, as a sewing needle threading it with the magic. He began to sew the magic back into the Hat.

A few stitches were done and then he set the hat on top of the crystal ball, like the ball was a dummy head or bust and continued to sew. In a bit of time the Sorting Hat swallowed the crystal ball. Then he did the same with the sword.

He paused in his efforts, as this process was taking some energy out of him and he looked longingly at the book wondering, if he could sneak a peak at it. His memory had been augmented by that spell and he could photographically recall it, but he wondered if it would be permitted.

A laughing female voice came from the Hat and they said, "Of course you can look. You are even permitted to make a couple of copies, if you like."

Another male voice said, "Think of it as payment for fixing us. We know that you are related to the Potions Master in this school and give you leave to make him a copy, as well as one other for yourself."

"Be warned you can only make two," the female voice told him. "We need to protect its origin after all."

"Of course, and I thank you," Harry said, wondering who was that was talking to him. There were two voices currently coming from the Hat and he instinctively kind of knew that each voice was a ghostly representative of the one of the Founders.

He took two of the many blank journal books that he had purchased this summer from one of the many pockets in his robe, without looking at them and proceeded to make copies the journal book that came out of the Founder's Hat.

Opening the journal, Harry noticed the potions in it were all incomplete, but more than that the book was also written Parseltongue. So, with the help of the cameo of Salazar Slytherin, Harry copied the journal into the two new ones, but forced the information to be translated into his own written English.

It wouldn't do to have a translation into '_olde_' English, which was Salazar's written English. However, a tabbed section at the back had all of the recipes in the original Parseltongue just in case that the translation was incorrect or was just missing something.

His robe had many pockets because he had altered every one of their school robes to have at least six or more inner pockets that could hold quite a bit of stuff. Each pocket worked like the luggage magics that Harry had studied earlier this summer.

The pockets were light and varied in size, but even if they were filled they would not have any weight to them. It was just one of the things that he '_Tinkered_' with during this summer. It was more practical for the boys to keep their shoulder bags for other things, like parchment, pens, toys and pranks.

It was only after the new journals were closed that Harry noticed that the ones he pulled from his pocket were not quite plain. One had a dark burnt red background with a huge bright yellow sunflower on the cover. The other was a dark mid-night kind of blue with branch of white-pink blossoms near the centre of it, kind of like the Chinese or Japanese water-colour paintings. He snorted at the thought of handing either of these to Professor Snape.

'_I have no choice, but I think that I let Severus choose the one he wants. I'll give the other to Coba_,' he thought, knowing that his ward wanted to learn more about potions. In fact Coba had asked for a special library that he can carry with him at all times and for the potions lab in the basement of Dragons Hearth to have connecting library for all books related to potions.

Draco was thinking about it. It was his house at any rate, but Harry knew that his lover would not say no to such a request. It just needed to be done in a manner, as to generate surprise for their young ward. Creating rooms in the house was easy. It was setting up the magics for specific things and to do specific tasks that were more difficult and challenging.

Harry then began to sew the original book back into the Sorting Hat with that yellow-green wand, as the needle. Something then began to happen with him during the process. He was instinctively learning more about '_Tinker Magic_' then ever possible.

He was seeing the auras of the magic he was sewing, which slowly enabled him to sew the wand back into the Hat without needing a substitute needle for the process. He used his own visualization techniques and from his meditation practices, soon the Sorting Hat was as whole as he could make with his limited learning in this kind of magic.

"Thank you," the Hat said. Although part of its personality was not there at the moment, it was still able to communicate like it once did, back when it had first been created. "Please place us on your head to be sorted."

"I've already been sorted," Harry said. "Thanks anyway."

"We need to be tested," the Hat said. Harry shrugged to himself and placed the Hat on his head.

"A yes," it said. "Thank you for what you remember of us, it will help us to become as we once were." The Hat then began to sift through Harry's sortings and the events that had just occurred in the Great Hall.

"Wow," it said. "We've never had to alter the Founders' Sorting Law before, but we're glad that it has been done this time. It will help improve the school from now on."

"I hope so," Harry said. "I like that the students are learning to reflect before choosing. I just loved Dumbledore's face when that happened. But before I bring you back to him, could I ask…"

"Why your son caused the tearing in our magics?"

"Yes," he replied.

The Hat paused for a bit and then answered. "We were created to sort many magical beings and not just humans," it said. "However, there has been a great decline at this school, as to who or what was allowed to attend. We have not sorted a magical being of his strength for quite some time. Half-breeds like Rubeus Hagrid are rare, but _his_ power is nearly equal to that of normal humans. Your ward is much stronger then that, but his magical core is very different from that of just a normal human. You do know that you have a stronger magical presence than many of the others in this school? Including the teachers?"

Harry nodded. He was very aware of his own magic and most of his capabilities.

"Did you know that elves, dwarves, vampires and even goblin children used to come to this school?" The Hat asked. Harry was startled at that. "There were specific classes formed for them to promote an understanding between the magical, sentient species of this World. These classes helped the humans to learn alternative magics and their potential uses, but ever since the Ministry of Magic was formed… uh well, everything seems to have declined to what it is now…"

The Hat sighed, "Every law being created then and now is affecting our Magical World. I'm almost despairing over it, but hope is coming back, as long as your son's true nature remains unknown for now…"

"We're encouraging him to hide for a while longer, but we also encourage him to be himself at home," Harry said. "We don't want him to feel that he needs to hide. Hmm?"

"What?"

"I wonder if there are others like him, hiding who they are with spells and glamouries," Harry wondered. "I never thought about it until now."

The Hat chuckled, "Yes… I'm more than certain that there are others out there hiding their true natures, but it is with good reason. However, they do not attend Hogwarts because I haven't sorted any since several hundred years after the time that the Founders have passed."

"That's true," Harry said. He double-checked the magics of the Hat to ensure that they had stabilized and then said, "I think that we can safely go back now. I wonder what time it is?"

The time appeared in front of him, as he lifted the brim of the Hat to look around and the Hat resettled to fit normally on his head with its usual bend towards the back. It was nearly nine in the evening.

"Shoot," he said, leaping up from his cross-legged seat, rubbing out the pins-n-needles sensation in his legs. He grabbed and secured the books and the new journals in his robe pockets. Then he ran out of the room with the Hat still on his head.

It didn't take him long to get to the Slytherin Commons, but since he didn't have the password he instinctively hissed the word (…Open…). The door opened up and revealed a very worried looking Dragon pacing up and down in front of the fireplace.

"Dragon," Harry said, walking into the room calmly.

"Harry," Draco spun about, squeaking a bit because he was startled. He placed his hands on his hips and was about to launch into his lover, but was prevented when a phoenix appeared in front Harry.

"Fawkes," Harry said taking the note from the claws clutching it. He read the note and frowned at the wording:

"_Mister Potter,_

_Your presence is required immediately to resolve the issue of your offspring, your re-sort and your absence from your relatives' place of residence this summer. _

_Headmaster Albus Dumbledore._"

The bird settled on his shoulder creating quite a sight in the Slytherin Rooms. A Gryffindor re-sorted into Slytherin with the Sorting Hat still on his head and a stubborn phoenix on his shoulder waiting to be carried back to the Headmaster's office.

"Harry," Draco said more calmly. "You really should've let me know where you were going. However, I think that note means that someone else wants to speak with you first, yeah?"

"Yeah," Harry sighed. "I couldn't tell you at the time. All I knew was that I had to leave so that no one in the Hall would've gotten hurt. I'm sorry my Dragon. I'll try to tell you where I'm going when I can."

"You should get your Head of House to accompany you for this," his lover suggested. "It's the Slytherin thing to do and I do understand. Can you tell me what happened now?"

Harry nodded and then said, "Will you come along and guide me to his rooms? I've never been there and I don't want to get lost. Actually I can't tell you much at this time, maybe later?"

"Sure," Draco said. "Meanwhile, you can tell me how you got down here without getting lost and how you got into the Commons without the password?"

The ex-Gryffindor just grinned, taking his dragon's hand, walking out of the room and said, "You do realize that I'm still wearing the Sorting Hat."

"Yes, what of it?" Came the slightly miffed reply. Harry paused and just looked pointedly into the brilliant silver eyes of his boyfriend, waiting patiently for him to catch the snitch.

Draco blinked a couple of times, as they were walking in the corridors, and then he grinned sheepishly in response to Harry's grin. "Oh…"

The blond lead him to his godfather's quarters and after a terse, "Come in," they both entered.

"Professor," Harry said nodding to his new Head of House.

"Uncle Sev," Draco said.

Severus was in his rooms, waiting for the outcome of the meeting that the Headmaster had planned with one of the newest members of his house.

"Mr. Potter," he began, but stopped when he noticed the Headmaster's familiar and the Sorting Hat on the boy's head. It was obvious that the boy had just received his note to see the Headmaster.

"I came to request your presence at my meeting with the Headmaster," Harry said. "I don't want him to think that I can just go back to Gryffindor House and I'm not certain what my rights are at the moment. I certainly don't want him to try anything in regards to our ward, which means that I need Drake's presence there too for Coba's sake."

That's when he showed the note and they agreed to accompany him into the Headmaster's domain. Harry explained briefly what happened in the Great Hall. It wasn't like didn't hear the tearing noise that came from the Hat before he left. Nor did they fail to see the light that came from the seams of the Hat, indicating that something was about to happen and that it was nothing good.

He didn't go into any details because the walls were listening. Well… maybe just the nosy portraits along the corridor walls. He wasn't stupid and therefore that's why he kept the details to the minimum needed to convey that he was able to repair some of the damage. He didn't tell them how he was able to do that, so that information never went back to the nosy old man.

Severus whispered the password to the guardian statue and they all rode up to the office. "Come in gentlemen," the Headmaster said before they could knock at the door.

Seated before the Headmaster was Coba and he didn't look very happy about it. "Coba," Draco said. "What are you doing here? I thought that you'd be with your House-mates in the dorms."

"_He_ didn't want me to go with them," Coba said pointing to the old man and then crossing his arms, scowling at the Headmaster.

"Professor Dumbledore," Harry said. "What has he done to warrant a meeting with you so early in the school year? He hasn't been here long enough to cause a problem."

"Hasn't…" Professor Dumbledore sputtered. "Harry, my boy. I don't think you realize the extent of the issue here."

"Issue?" Professor Snape said.

That's when the Headmaster took notice of the others present in the room. He had been too busy staring at the Sorting Hat on Harry's head and Fawkes position on Harry's shoulder to really notice that others had come into the room.

"Severus, young Mr. Malfoy," Dumbledore said. "What are you doing here?"

"Really Albus," Severus said. "Mr. Potter is a member of my House now and therefore has the right to ask that I attend any meeting that he may feel needs a neutral adult present."

"Any meeting that involves my ward, I am entitled to attend as well Headmaster," Draco said. "My parents were always present when they had to meet with you regarding anything to do with me. Now this seems like a similar situation and Coba is entitled to have both his guardians present for whatever issue it is that you need to speak to him about."

Harry just nodded at each statement and waited to see what the Headmaster would do or say against that. "That's right sir," Harry said. "Could we please be told why you need to see us about Coba?"

"He was in the books for the following year," Dumbledore began. "He should not have been…"

"Albus," Severus said. "Remus and I have already tested the boy and he was permitted to have special dispensation to allow him to begin a year early."

"Both you and Remus are too close to the situation to be considered fair judges in marking his scores," the Headmaster said.

"We _didn't_ mark his scores, Albus," Severus explained. "We just tested him and forwarded his answers to other Heads of House for them to mark and record his scores. They were the ones that approved his placement on this year's list. He did receive his owl like other first years, which proves acceptance to the Hogwarts rolls."

"Who marked his papers?" The old man questioned.

"Professor Flitwick and Professor Sprout," Severus said. He was grinning on the inside because he knew that if he had sent the boy's papers to the Head of Gryffindor House the old coot would have sited a conflict of interest.

Professor Dumbledore's countenance showed that he was clearly not pleased to know that. There was nothing that he could say against it. Also, there was nothing that he could do now to prevent this young one from attending.

The Sorting Hat piped in, "Headmaster, we've already accepted the boy's decision during his sorting. He really should return to his House in order to get a good night's rest. Tomorrow is his first day of class after all."

"Yes, yes, of course," he said. He tried to look benevolently at the youth sitting in the conjured chair before him, but Coba wasn't biting. The old man sighed and said, "You can return to your House now."

He waited for the young man to leave before he continued his discussion with the others. "Well," he said to the boy.

"You pulled me out of the Great Hall before I even had a chance to find out where the Hufflepuff House is," Coba sneered. "Do you expect me to wander up and down the halls looking for it?"

Dumbledore had the grace to look slightly sheepish at that comment. "Perhaps Mr. Malfoy would be willing to escort you there, as he is a Prefect after all. He knows how to get there." Draco nodded that this was acceptable and the sent a look at Harry, indicating that they were going to talk as soon as Harry returned to the dorms.

Harry returned the nod and sent them off with a small grin and a shooing wave. He cleared his face when he turned to look back at the Headmaster. Suddenly it wasn't a benevolent old man before him, but someone who was used to having his own way carried out much too often.

Albus Dumbledore was prepared to show a side of him-self that proved that he had earned his titles in the Wizengamot and in the Wizarding World. He showed them the reason why he was the one who defeated Grindelwald.

There was one person who shouldn't be there, but then there was nothing he could say to make the Head of Slytherin House leave at the moment. Harry was well within his rights to have a neutral adult present, since it was clear that his guardians could not be present.

"Harry," he began. "Perhaps you can explain to me why you were not at your relatives this summer. Where were you? You know that the Order can not look out for your safety, if you're not where you're supposed to be."

"Well, sir…," Harry started and then stopped. He really looked at the old man and suddenly knew that the Headmaster was trying to use Legilimency on him. He scowled at him and said, "You know… I don't think that I'll tell you anything. In fact, since I'm fully emancipated now I don't have to tell you and you have no right to make such a demand from me. No explanation, no reason, no excuse… nothing. I suggest you stop trying to look into my mind too otherwise I will report you to the Wizengamot for Misuse of Mind Magics."

"Who do you think that they will believe?" Dumbledore asked, curious to find how Harry was able to Occlude so well.

Harry just shrugged and said, "Your magical signature is distinctive. It wouldn't be that hard to prove it."

"Harry… A wizard of my caliber can hide my magical signature," Dumbledore said benevolently.

"A wizard of my abilities can duplicate it, Professor," Harry said, shocking the portraits and the two Professors. "Oh, don't look so surprised, it's not that difficult with the right spell and potion, we learned that last year. Therefore, I strongly suggest you QUIT TRYING to get into MY MIND."

He shouted and using his magics he pushed the old man out from the layer of his mind that he had wheedled his way into. It was small hole in a sub-layer of Harry's natural barrier that Dumbledore had always kept open and in place for years.

He was always able to see into the boy's mind with it. The poor Occlumency lessons in Harry's fifth year left the boy's mind opened wide enough for him to create a foolproof entry point that would never fail.

Only now it seems that Harry knew about it and was able to close off his mind around the section that Dumbledore had kept open on purpose. "You have no right to look into my mind without purpose or previous invitation. How dare you?" Harry spat.

"Now my boy…"

"Don't you dare call me _your boy_," Harry said. "You did not adopt, take over the guardianship of me and you never saw to my well being. Therefore there is nothing that should ever make you consider calling me as such. My name is Harry Potter and from now on you can address me like any other student in this school. That's Mr. Potter to you, just like all the other staff at this does."

"Now really," Albus began. "You don't mean that."

"I assure that I do," Harry said. "I may be the one spoken of in _some_ prophesy, but I don't believe that that gives you any right to dictate my place of residence or who my guardians should've been. I've seen my parents' Magical Will and do you know, they never once stated that I should be placed with the Dursleys. Their Will was very clear that I _not_ be placed with them… ever."

Severus quirked an eyebrow at the Headmaster when he heard that statement, the old man even had the audacity to show surprise at the statement. "Really, Albus," the Potions Master said. "With his emancipation Harry has access to all the Magical Wills related to him, that includes Black's Will."

Harry smiled at this and nodded his head. "That's correct. Who do you think is allowing to you to continue using Grimmauld Place for your Order meetings?"

Dumbledore was flustered about this. All of his plans were seemingly going down the drain, but there was still one other matter. The little black kitten that jumped on the table in the Great Hall and the one he saw this summer.

Believing that the Old Man was not done, Harry pulled out his wand and fixed the chair that Coba had been sitting in. He made the back lower, the arms higher for comfort and promptly sat down. He then conjured another one for Professor Snape, but this one was similar to what he had seen in the man's rooms.

"Professor Snape," Harry began. "You might be more comfortable sitting down because I have a feeling that this will take a bit more time."

Dumbledore was surprised that Harry was polite to the man, but he was more concerned about why the boy would leave the safety of his relative's home. "Harry," he started to say. However he was stopped by the fierce glare that the boy was sending him. He changed the form of address just to patronize him and said, "Mr. Potter, I assure you that everything that was done in the past was done with the best of intentions."

"Considering the Dursleys attitude towards magic and the Wizarding World in general, I'm more than certain that you've forgotten about the one immutable fact found in human nature," Harry said.

"What would that be Mr. Potter?" Professor Snape asked.

"It is evident, many times throughout history, Muggle or Wizard doesn't matter which world you live in, that all humans tend to fear that which they can not understand or control." Harry said this with such conviction that both men were forced to reflect on it.

That didn't stop Harry from continuing. "The Dursleys hated and absolutely feared magic, so much so that they were even phobic about the word _magic_. They didn't want anything to do with our World and yet you left me there to be raised by them. _Protected_ by them, people who hate magic that much sometimes believe the best course of action, is to beat the unnaturalness out of someone. Do you remember these?"

He released the spells on his hands. He had long since suspected that Dumbledore had either chosen to forget what his real hands looked like or that he had taken something to help him forget.

"Look at them," Harry demanded. "Look at them and remember that this is from their protection, _for my own good_. This is from the safety of the Dursleys. Do you truly believe that they ever stopped?"

"Harry," Professor Snape started to ask, but was afraid of what the answer would be. "What else did they do?"

"No!" He exclaimed, understanding the jist of the Professor's question. "Not that… nothing so extreme ever since I received my Hogwarts' letter, however, now is not the time to demand that I be protected or kept safe from everything that is happening in this World, especially if you expect me to save it for you," he said. "I'm not the only student in this school. You're the Headmaster and your concerns should only be with the administrative duties of this school. You don't even teach classes, so why are you so concerned with just my welfare?"

"Harry," Dumbledore began, "You know what the Prophesy said."

"Yeah," he agreed. "But you don't know what the true interpretation of it should be. Just because it points to me, doesn't mean that I have to sit here and wait for things to happen or for you to set them up in order to work in your favor. You know that's not how it works. Why do you insist that I be protected? I need to learn how to do things, more then just how to sit and wait. That's why I'm going to learn everything I can and not hide behind the seemingly safe haven that you want me to stay behind. Now that we've each had our say in the matter, I'm considering this matter completely done and dropped. I refuse to listen or adhere to your advice any further regarding it. Understood, Headmaster?"

"But…" Albus was dumbfounded. "It was for your own good…"

Harry raised one eyebrow and the Headmaster finally knew that he could no longer have any say in the residence location of the Boy-Who-Lived. He also knew that if he continued to argue the point then Harry could in all his rights kick the entire Order out of Grimmauld Place.

"Very well," he grudgingly accepted. He didn't want to lose the privileges that the location provided for them. It was central to their needs for the time being.

Severus was surprised to see the old man back down, but then again he knew that the old man had something else up his sleeve. After realizing that the Headmaster would use the barely legal mind magic, without someone's knowledge, he knew that he wouldn't put it passed the old man to try something else.

Probably something to get Draco or Harry brought up bogus charges, maybe something to do about being…

"By the way, Severus," Professor Dumbledore began. "I would like to know why you didn't mention to that you knew that Mr. Potter was an animagus."

Harry huffed in exasperation. The old man was like a dog with a bone. He wanted something sound against Harry in order to punish him for having caused him worry.

"When should I have mentioned this, Headmaster?" Severus asked, with an eyebrow raised. The old man was pushing for information and trying to catch his Professors in a lie. "If Mr. Potter had an animagus form, it was in his best interest to keep it hidden. So why would I even know that he was an animagus." He looked over at the youth sitting next to him and said, "The display in the Great Hall was not a wise move on his part."

"Sorry about that," Harry said. "It had to be done though. They all needed to know that any black kitten hanging around Draco could be more than what it seems. I couldn't let that Harpy keep her claws in him."

The Headmaster had a look of surprise on his face when he heard that. "Why would such a thing concern you?" He asked, hoping to find a weakness in the boy, although, perhaps his weakness was now the young boy carrying his name.

"I made a vow to Draco's mother, to protect him if he ever turned down the Dark Mark," Harry said. "I don't know if the Order is aware of this or not, but Lucius Malfoy and all of the others that were locked up after that Department of Mysteries fiasco, are now all free. Draco refused to have anything to do with Voldemort. So, of course, his safety is now my concern."

"That's all true Albus," Severus told the curious old man. "I believe that I've mentioned this before at one of the Order meetings. You remember when we were in a meeting around the 13th of August and I received a request to go to Malfoy Manor."

Dumbledore nodded his head. He thought that Severus had to go because of his Godson. Seems like that was the reason, but not about what he had suspected. "I recall that meeting, but why didn't you mention that the others were free?"

"I did not know that," the Potions Master explained. "The note I had received was requesting my help with something to do with Draco. I did not know that Lucius had escaped until I arrived there and had to patch him up."

"What?" Dumbledore asked.

Harry asked, "Why?"

"When I arrived at the Manor, the front doors were open and Lucius was lying on the ground severely injured," the dark man said with a slight grin. He had guiltily enjoyed the sight of another in pain, especially if that other was Lucius. "His wand was snapped, drained of its magics, he had several deep lacerations to his wand arm and several of his bones were broken and needed to be mended. It wouldn't do to leave him there like that because it would have been reported back to the Dark Lord that I was there, but never assisted him."

Harry winced at the thought of having to take any kind of Bone Repairing Potion. He remembered that awful stuff that he had to choke down because of Lockhart in his second year. Still he was pretty pleased that the Headmaster was rendered speechless. Perhaps it was the glee in Severus' tone of voice that transmitted itself throughout the description of Mr. Malfoy's injuries.

"I understand, Severus." The headmaster stated. It wouldn't do for his only reliable spy to die because he had refused to help the injured man, who was supposed to be a close colleague in the service of the Dark Lord.

The old man turned to look at Harry Potter, the Boy-Who-Lived. He was disappointed in the youth because the boy didn't seem to even be remorseful for the worry that he had caused him. '_It's true that I never sought guardianship of the boy_,' he thought. '_Now, it's too late to do something about that, but being an unregistered animagus is a chargeable offence. Now if only Draco was one too…_'

He turned his attention back to the two men before him. "Well, that's one of the things that the Order is still looking into, as they were not to have been released at all. One last thing before you go, Mr. Potter."

"Hmm," he responded distractedly. It was clear that he was barely paying attention.

"Potter," Professor Snape said loudly. Harry turned to him blink tiredly. It was clear to both Professors that the boy was exhausted.

"Yes, Professor," he said, his voice almost fading out, as his consciousness was drifting.

"Albus, I believe that you should defer your interrogation of the rest of the issues you have against Mr. Potter for another day," Severus suggested, watching Harry slump in the chair. "It's not like he will be going anywhere soon."

Fawkes flew back to his stand when this happened. Oddly enough, the Sorting Hat was still firmly affixed to Harry's head. It was like it didn't want to let go just yet. Harry's mind was an interesting place and the boy didn't seem to mind that the hat wanted to stay on for the time being.

"You're quite right," the Headmaster said. '_It's not like the boy can leave the school anyway. I'll be able to catch him later about being an unregistered animagus._'

Suddenly it was like Harry had heard the old man and he mumbled, "Not… unregist'd…animag… Fully regisst'd… legal…"

"Well, sir," the Potions Master said. "I believe that alleviates your last concern. If he's a fully registered animagus, then it would be on record at the Ministry that he registered with. I'll guide him back to the dorm, if that is all."

"Yes, of course Severus," the old man replied. "You'd best leave the Sorting Hat behind, now that the sorting is over."

Severus tried to lift the hat, but it wouldn't budge.

"Leave us be for now," the Hat said. "We want to see the school with fresh eyes. We will come back when we're done."

Since Harry wasn't leaving the school anytime soon, Dumbledore just waved them out of his office. He was planning and plotting another course of action to get the boy back under his control. The boy still had another year of school, after all.

--

**TBC…**


	17. Draco Has a Secret

Disclaimer, Author's Notes, & Warnings: SEE PROLOGUE

**LEGEND:**

"Normal Talk"

'_Thoughts or Emphasis_'

(...Parseltongue...)

--

Chapter Sixteen - Draco has a secret

--

Meanwhile, during Harry's meeting, Draco was guiding their young ward to the Hufflepuff Dorms. Coba was naturally upset at leaving Harry behind with that old man, but as long as Severus was there he hoped that it wouldn't turn out too badly.

He then felt an arm wrap around his shoulders to draw him closer to his '_Dad_'. These guys may not know anything about being '_adult_' guardians, but they certainly seemed to have wonderful instincts when it came to giving him the hugs he sometimes needed.

Draco kind of knew what was on Coba's mind and he was just as worried about it. He got a small smile on his face when he heard the boy sigh. It let him know that he was doing the right thing. "All right then?" He asked.

"Yeah," Coba sighed again. "Thanks, I needed that."

Draco nodded and then released him, while asking, "So did you make friends?"

"Geez," the boy huffed. "I just met them on the train." He paused a moment to think about it. "Yeah… I guess that they could become better friends in time. It was kinda fun too."

Soon he was babbling about some of the things that they were talking on the train. Draco told him what had happened at the Slytherin table, when Harry showed up. Coba was giggling at that one, but soon he was heaving a huge yawn.

They were close to the Hufflepuff dorms. "I know that you're tired, but you have to pay attention to where we are," Draco instructed. He pointed out a few of the easy landmarks, so to speak. He then showed the forest tapestry that guarded the entrance.

"Your dorm's notice board will contain any new passwords in the future, so don't forget to look. For now though it's _Terra Majestica_," he said facing the tapestry. The forest scene shifted and sped up until a cave-like entrance appeared in the trunk of a huge tree that took up the entire length of the tapestry.

"Come on," Draco said.

"That was cool," the new Hufflepuff said following his guardian.

Draco was allowed only in the common rooms of any House for official business, but this was the first time that he ever needed to do it. "Hello everyone," he said. There were a few of the older years looking at him strangely. It was the first time they had ever seen a Slytherin willingly walk into their common room. "I've brought your last House member. His name, in case you've missed it in the Great Hall is Coba Draconus Potter."

Coba stepped out from the entrance and shyly said, "Sorry I'm late."

He was a touch nervous because this was the first time that he wouldn't be tucked in by his guardians at night. They had started doing that at '_Dragon's Hearth_' to re-assure him that he was safe, but obviously it wasn't going to happen at school.

"Welcome to Hufflepuff," one of the Prefects said. "My name is Amanda Bones and this is Scott Nettlethrush. We're the sixth year Prefects." She smiled when she caught the young boy yawning and leaning against Draco. "Scott will show you to the room you'll be sharing with a fellow first year. You can get a feel for the House tomorrow and we'll show you around then too."

Amanda had come to this school in their fourth year, during the Tri-Wizard tournament. She had only planned to stay for the one year, as she had exchanged places with her cousin, Susan Bones. She had been sorted into Hufflepuff, in the Headmaster's office when the paperwork had been finalized.

However, Susan loved going to BeauBatons and Amanda had grown very fond of Hogwarts, so they traded their schools permanently and the exchange was accepted by their families.

Scott gently took the youth by the arm to lead him to his new room for the year. "But… wha' bout…snakes…" Coba mumbled in Draco's direction.

Draco smiled and said with a fatherly sounding tone, "It's too late to do anything about that today. I'll show you where they are tomorrow, once classes are done for the day. Sometime before the evening meal, all right?"

"Yeah," Coba said softly swaying on his feet.

"I leave you to your house-mates now," Draco said. "Goodnight Coba."

" 'night Dad," the boy said, just before he was lead away by the Prefect.

Amanda looked at Draco with a shocked expression. Draco had a goofy smile on his face, but he just turned to her and put a finger to his lips and said with a wink, "Shh…"

She returned the grin with twinkles in her eyes. It was something that not many students of the school knew about, but these two had a social understanding. They weren't best friends, but they did work together for a common goal.

She was learning potions, while he was studying his other courses. He allowed her to know what he was studying and she gained access to Professor Snape's books whenever she needed to, through Draco. She wanted to become a Potions Mistress, but knew that Severus was a very difficult teacher and wasn't too tolerant of any House other than Slytherin.

Amanda was too nervous in the Potions Master's presence and made many mistakes when brewing, but her theory was sound. She even had a potential teacher waiting for her, if she could get good marks during her schooling here.

Watching Draco's antics, she knew that what Coba had revealed was a secret, but there was something more to it. Everyone had already heard the boy's declaration in the Great Hall. The whisperings were still going on now because Coba had clearly stated that he carried the name Potter.

She looked closer and saw him blush a little. Her eyes grew huge and she whispered her question. "What about Pansy?"

He shook his head and whispered back, "Are you crazy? No way in Merlin's Magical Beard would I ever…" He shuddered at the thought. "Things are much better now. See you in the class."

"All right," she said. "See you then. Welcome back to school."

Draco looked at her and smiled honestly, "Thanks."

She nodded and then watched him walk out of the Hufflepuff common rooms. The others looked at her for guidance, but she did the same. "Shh…" with her forefinger and wink.

It was about time that the Puffers got gossip ahead of everyone else. It would be great fun when the time came for revelation, but in the meantime everyone here and in this House would keep '_mum_' about what they just saw and heard.

--

Draco walked back to his House and dorm. He arrived in time to see his Godfather guiding Harry back just like that Prefect had done for Coba. He smiled at this and said, "Need any help with that?"

"Oh, just take him to your room," Severus said. "I'm under no illusion that you're going to let him share a room with any other Slytherin. See if you could get him to take off that Hat."

"You got that right," Draco agreed. "Besides he's here to protect me from all those unwanted advances."

Once they were through the entrance way to the dorms, Harry chuckled and removed the Sorting Hat from his head. He looked around the common room and then said, "It hasn't changed much in here has it?"

"What?" Draco said. There were a few others in the common rooms waiting to hear what was going on and to find out if Harry Potter had really been re-sorted into their House.

"Mr. Potter," Professor Snape said. "How would you know what the Slytherin common rooms look like?"

Harry gave everyone a cheeky grin and said, "Well, I was able to visit it in second year. Draco even showed me how to get here."

"I did what?" The blond exclaimed out loud, wondering just when this would have been.

"Oh, don't worry about that," Harry said laughingly. "I was not quite myself at the time."

"Humph," Draco huffed crossing his arms and annoyed to not have a straight answer.

The Potions Master in the meantime told the others in the room that the re-sort was sought and completed by the proper channels and that he had permitted it. "Mr. Potter was very convincing when he claimed that he should have been in Slytherin since his first year. I will not tolerate any violence against a House mate in this school." He said clearly to a few of the students who were obviously followers of Voldemort. "Neither will _anyone_ else, tolerate it. Understood?"

He was clearly implying that the Dark Lord was aware that Harry was going to be re-sorted. So that meant that their Lord had a plan for the Boy-Who-Lived. It wasn't true, but Severus let them believe that, knowing that it might get back to the evil Git somehow.

Still it was true that the word '_anyone_' could refer to anybody in this school, which is exactly what Severus had meant. However he planned to use this opportunity to his advantage and hopefully there wouldn't be too many altercations that he would have to deal with. He knew that once word reached the Dark Lord that Harry Potter was re-sorted, the evil Git would want to find a way to convert the Boy-Who-Lived to their cause.

--

The following day was filled with new classes and weird schedules for the new first year students of Hogwarts. All day Coba was having fun pulling his course stuff from the pockets of his robes, instead of struggling with his carryall like everyone else.

Some of those books were big and heavy, but that was because they were for their entire seven years of schooling. Others were thin little things that sometimes got stuck inside another book and it was funny watching the little firsties panic when trying to find them. They all swore that they brought them to class.

Harry and Draco both received their schedules with an entry for self-study and the location was marked as arranged with Professors Snape and Lupin during their summer holiday. Harry had his self-study after lunch on Mondays and Thursdays was a double period first thing in the morning, whereas Draco's was first thing in the morning Mondays and on Wednesdays he had it doubled just after lunch.

Most of the groupings for the Houses and classes were more mixed as the years got up to their seventh. It was easier to keep the younger students in a two house classroom because much of their classes were the same and unchanging for the first two years. Coba found that he had most of his classes with Ravenclaw, but his Potions class was with the Gryffindors.

He wasn't happy about that because apparently Ron Weasley was saying some stuff against his ex-"best friend", one Harry Potter. Many of those first years didn't know what to believe. A couple of them were related to the Weasleys, but Coba was sure that one of them was there to spy on him because his last name was Potter.

Coba was not going to put up with that at all, but he really wanted to learn in this class, so he used the few tricks that the Potions Master had taught him to keep unwanted things out of his cauldron. He made sure that the notes he was taking were not going to be messed with. '_Really,_' he thought. '_How much could that Gryff know about pranking at this stage in his life._'

Sometimes Coba despaired that the students that he was with were too young, but sometimes he knew that he just fit right in. It was like the time that had stopped for him was now moving forward like it should.

He was still curious about that and couldn't wait for Harry to explain things. Even Remus promised to tell him more about his possible heritage. The DADA professor knew many things, as he had traveled around the world.

During the summer, after they had returned Remus went to the muggle storage facility that he had and looked over some of his books and notes about the Elvish magical species. He had been collecting books and scrolls regarding other magical species as well. He was a DADA Master after all and it was his business to know these things.

Anyway he made sure to bring some of these books and scrolls to the school and he locked in the Potions Master's personal library as it was entirely probable that the Headmaster accessed the lodgings of many of the temporary teachers. '_Especially with the high rotation of DADA Professors, I wouldn't be surprised in the least,_' he thought.

--

Just before the evening meal, Coba was able to track down Draco in order to look in on his snakes. He had his three companions with him and they had caused a bit of a stir during their lunch when they sat together at the Hufflepuff table to discuss their classes so far.

"Coba," Draco said, smiling his greeting. "What's going on?"

"I need to see my pets and we're wondering if Harry is there," he said. "I want to know if they need anything and I was also hoping that I could introduce them to my friends."

"We'll see if Harry's come back from his last class," Draco said to them. "If he hasn't then maybe you can write down your questions and he can ask them later."

Coba wasn't too sure that he wanted to do that. He always felt more certain about what the snakes were telling him if he was in their presence to listen to their hissing answers. There was one other selfish reason he wanted his friends to be there when Harry talked to the snakes. It was just to show off a little bit.

Draco smiled understanding part of why Coba wanted to be there when Harry asked the snakes if they were all right. He also knew that Coba was proud of Harry's talent and more than likely wanted to show that off to his new friends. '_The Gods know that I would have been doing the same thing, if Harry and I had been friends since the beginning,_' he thought.

Instead he just said, "All right. First let's see if we can find Harry and then find out if he's willing to show off for you."

Coba blushed, but Draco noted that his ward was excited and it did not escape him that the other three first years were just as curious and excited. '_I only hope it's not at the prospect of meeting Harry Potter the Boy-Who-Lived,_' he thought. '_He wouldn't like that._'

--

Meanwhile Harry was just making his way down to his new Rooms and having an interesting conversation with the Sorting Hat. '_Really,_' he said internally to the Hat. '_Is that right? Fawkes doesn't belong to the Headmaster, but to the school. That old man really likes to dissemble doesn't he?_'

'_It's true,_' the Hat replied in its fashion. '_Fawkes used to belong to one of the Founders, don't recall which one, but that creature just decided to live at the school. It has always lived in the Headmaster's chambers, but I believe that the current old codger is the only one who dared to even use him in such a manner. Messenger and who knows what else? I don't know why Fawkes is allowing it._'

Harry paused to consider that statement and it was lucky that he did because he felt magic gather behind him. A spell was about to be cast against him or someone near him, but since he is currently alone it's safe to assume that this spell is against him. He gathered his own magic and erected a shield just in time turned quickly to face his backstabber.

"Ron!" He exclaimed. "What are you doing?"

Hermione was standing next to the red-headed boy and she too had her wand out. Ron was scowling, pissed that his spell missed the mark. "You're just a Death Eater and you need to be eliminated."

"Or at the very least taken out of commission," Hermione agreed. "We can't allow you to continue giving us a bad name."

"What _are_ you taking about? I never did anything against the two of you and I certainly would never have attacked someone from behind like this," he stated.

"How would we know?" Ron asked. "You never told us anything, have you? You didn't even explain anything and you weren't on the train, you could have told then. We were looking for you."

Harry frowned and then said, "I wrote to you this summer, but the two of you never once replied to my letters. You didn't even write back to say that you couldn't talk about anything. Are you saying that you'd have explained _that_ on the train."

"We don't have to explain ourselves or our actions to you," Hermione said. "You certainly don't deserve it. Running away, making everyone worry about your health and safety."

"That is a load bullshit," Harry said. "If you were concerned, even once you'd have tried to contact me. You know how to use a phone, Hermione. You could have called me because it's not like you were living in the Wizarding World for the entirety of _your_ summer. I saw your parents pick you up at the station."

She blushed to realize that Harry had observed that. It was true that she had his phone number, but she would much rather listen to her elders. This is something that the Sorting Hat was pointing out. Another thing about the Hat, it was a valid witness and recording device. It had memories and therefore if it needed to be called as a witness, it couldn't be disputed in a court of Magical Law. It was telling Harry all of this while he was speaking to the Gryffindors that had attacked him.

Meanwhile Ron was attempting to cast another spell, but Harry's shield was still up and this time he had added a reflecting factor. Mrs. Norris was in the corridor and had meowed for her human, Argus Filch, to come and resolve this. It was obvious that these students needed detention.

"Here now," Mr. Filch said stepping in between the two parties. "There's no casting in the corridors. You lot follow me. Dumbledore will know how to handle this."

Unfortunately the reflecting factor of Harry's shield caused Ron's spell to bounce and be sent back. "Mr. Filch, duck," Harry yelled, hoping that the school's caretaker would not be hit. Luckily the man was quick on his feet, despite his age and he dropped like a stone. The spell missed him and hit Hermione.

"Ron!" She shrieked and screamed, "How dare you fire a spell when it's obvious that Harry's magical shield is still up. Undo this right now!"

The spell shrank her to half her height and she was turning green. It was Ron's old standby of "Eat Slugs", but since his wand was newer and he had practice, he was able to modify it so that the person who had the spell cast was shrunk down in size in order to reach the slugs that were now crawling slowly up their legs. Worse the slugs were crawling into Hermione's mouth and she was effectively eating the slimy creatures.

She was green because the thought was making her sick. Slugs were not the healthiest things to eat either because their slime was a protective defense against predators, making them sick once they were ingested.

"All right Missy," Filch said, looking a little green too just watching this happen. "Off you go to Madam Pomfrey and she'll be able to sort you out. You two follow me."

The boys were taken to see the Headmaster were their Heads of House were called in to mediate the issue. Professor McGonagall was shocked to learn that Ron's attack on Harry was unprovoked. Professor Snape just sneered at the Gryffindor student and silently thanked the Gods that Harry was now in his house.

"Now Mr. Potter," the Headmaster began. "Could you please tell us the spell that you cast at Miss Granger?"

"What are you talking about?" Harry asked. "I cast no spell at either of them."

"Madam Pomfrey has just informed me that Hermione is in the infirmary and is currently ill because of you," the old man said.

Harry frowned and said, "Sir… I cast no spell at either of the ones who accosted me in the upper corridors. The only spells I cast was a magical shield and a reflective surface to it. Nothing else."

Albus Dumbledore was not convinced and pointedly asked, "Then why is she _Eating Slugs_?"

Professor Snape snorted. "Really Albus," he said. "Don't you know that that is Mr. Weasley's favourite spell? He's attacked several Slytherins over the years with it."

"Is that why he usually had detention with you in the last two years, Professor?" Harry asked, curious because there were times that Ron had had detention, but never told him why.

"Yes," came the positive reply.

Harry really and truly looked at his friend. For perhaps the first time he realized that he didn't really know the boy. It was like some wool or cloud that had been shielding his eyes was now removed. "Did you attack like you did me?" He asked his one time best friend. "Did you sneak up on them and attack when their backs were turned?"

Ron just sneered at him and replied, "They were only Slytherins and got what they deserved."

Harry was shocked, but the one who was truly in shock was Ron's Head of House. She was slowly coming to realize that there was something seriously wrong with that boy. "The House of Gryffindor is a noble House and never in all of my years has anyone..." she was too angry to continue. "I will be notifying your parents about this and you'll be in detention with me studying the life of Godric Gryffindor until you understand what he truly stood for. You will not humiliate his name in this manner ever again. It is not acceptable and whoever taught you that…" she heaved a breath and expelled. "They… were… wrong... Do I make myself clear?"

Ron gulped and then he snarled. He didn't do anything wrong and it was all Harry's fault that he was getting detention.

"Oh no, you don't," Professor Snape said. "There's no way that young Mr. Potter here is to blame for your actions. I can tell what you're thinking, but you are wrong. He was well within his rights to defend himself against an attack from behind. Just because you don't like how it ended, does not mean that he is to be blamed for it. Am I understood?"

Ron didn't look down and he didn't look like he even cared what the Potions Master was saying. It was clear to everyone in the room, including the Headmaster that the stubborn Gryff wasn't going to change his mind. "Minerva," he said. "Perhaps you should contact his parents. I believe suspension for a week is needed in this case. When he returns to the school, he can resume with the detention that you've come up with. It is obvious that he needs the reminder of everything that Godric Gryffindor stood up for."

"What?" Ron shouted. "You can't suspend me for casting a spell. If you do then shouldn't Harry also be suspended?"

"Mr. Potter will be serving detention with his Head of House for casting in the corridors," Professor Snape said. "He is not the one who endangered the caretaker or another student with his actions, but you have with yours."

Ron looked at the Headmaster who was nodding that that was the reasoning behind his decision. Professor McGonagall was nodding too. "Come on Mr. Weasley," she said. "You will be in detention with me until your parents come to get you."

"You have no proof that I did anything wrong," he grumbled, and that's when the Sorting Hat spoke to all of them from the top of Harry's head.

"Young man," it began. "That is where you are incorrect. I have witnessed the entire transgression and have recorded it. The recording is now permanently part of you scholastic records, including this entire meeting and your actions within it."

"How are we to know that you're not taking all of that from Harry's side in this?" Ron asked. "You were damaged during the Sorting Feast, how are we to know if you've been truly fixed?"

The Hat laughed and said, "Boy… Do not mess with magics that you have no understanding of. I was fixed as per the maintenance requirements outlined in the instruction scrolls for the maintenance of every magical artifact linked to this school. I can be tested if you doubt me."

Ron's face looked like a thunder cloud. It was clear that they were all siding with that Traitor, Harry Potter.

"Potter, just you wait, you'll get yours," he spat out and then he really did try to hock a gob of spit at him, but Harry dodged that, obviously.

"That's disgusting," Harry said and took another step away and to the side, not wanting to be anywhere, _near_, that Gryffindor.

The professors were all shocked and that is when Ron's Head of House said, "That's enough… Follow me now Mr. Weasley. Your parents will be notified and it's obvious that you can no longer be civil in the presence of others."

Ron followed the Transfiguration Professor out of the Headmaster's office, but not before sending Harry one last glare.

Once the door was shut, Harry looked to his own Head of House and asked, "How long will I have detention with you and when will it be?"

"I believe that tonight will be just fine," Severus told him. "Follow me and I will explain what you need to bring with you."

"Ah, Severus," Headmaster Dumbledore said, trying to get the dark man's attention. "Perhaps a detention for this should be slightly longer."

The Potions Master's brow furrowed a bit. He had to ask, "Why?"

It was Mr. Filch who replied, as he was well aware of the rules regarding spells cast in his corridors. "The usual punishment is at least three detentions for casting in the corridors," but he looked at the Headmaster and said. "However, I think that since Mr. Potter told me duck and thereby saving me from being hit with the rebounded spell, perhaps Professor Snape has the right this time?"

The Headmaster was tired from this and didn't want to deal with it. "Since you've agreed, Mr. Filch that this course is all right with you for this time, I don't see anything wrong with. You're all dismissed."

Professor Snape walked out of the Headmaster's office and Harry just followed him, but before he did he gave Mr. Filch a little bow to acknowledge him and his words. "Thank you," he said and left.

Mr. Filch was shocked, but he too left the Headmaster to stew over the events that had just occurred. Dumbledore was feeling a little nauseous thinking about Miss Granger being forced to _Eat Slugs_ until the spell ran out. It was obvious that Mr. Weasley didn't know the counter spell to it.

He was also slightly disturbed by the venom in the young man and he wondered just what was going to happen next in his school.

--

**TBC…**


	18. Potions, Detentions and Quidditch

Disclaimer, Author's Notes, & Warnings: SEE PROLOGUE

**Author's Note:** Recently I received a review that added a little constructive criticism regarding the Title of this Story and the Summary, which is from when I first posted this tale in 2007. I feel that I must respond to this, as I'm sure many are wondering the about same things.

After re-reading and thinking on it, I find that the reviewer is correct. The summary seems to lead you, the readers, to think that this story is centred on Hagrid and his obsession with creatures. Minor roles being related in HPDM fashion.

I find that I'm rather fond of the title and therefore will not be changing it, but there is something that I can do about the summary. Let me know if it's improved.

Thank you.

--

**LEGEND:**

"Normal Talk"

'_Thoughts or Emphasis_'

(...Parseltongue...)

--

Chapter Seventeen – Potions, Detentions & Quidditch

--

**October-ish**

The students were finally settled into their schedules and not many caused a lot of disturbances. Harry had to deal Dumbledore getting in his face nearly every week. That man just didn't want to leave him alone.

Harry was seriously thinking of having him charged with stalking because _really_… no other student had to put up with this nonsense. In the first three weeks of school that interfering old bugger showed up to his self-study classes nearly every week, trying to find out exactly what Harry was learning.

However the teenager was too clever for him because he made sure that there were several "Do Not Disturb" spells in place. There was even a lengthy warning on the door, regarding the consequences of disturbing the learning in progress with a list of punishments for trying.

"I don't… burp… approve of… urp… this, Remus… brrrapp." the Headmaster said when he went to complain about it to the Professor that had help Harry to set up the alarms and hexes. Unfortunately the esteemed old man was now stuck with yet another temporary Hex or mini Curse.

This time it forced him to burp at every other word. Before that was the clashing colours on his robes and all of his beautiful stars and comets were changed to brooms, snitches and garden gnomes. Then there was the one that caused him to hiccup for three days, he couldn't get any work done because he had to live in the Infirmary for those. He wasn't able to keep breathing regular because of those and next was the loss of his hair and re-growth for five days straight. Not only did he lose every hair on his body, but it re-grew in the most outrageous colours. At least his Potions Master was able to provide several anti-itch potions to relieve him of the itch.

"These are… bbrruppp… increas… rupt… increasing in… burururpt… severity," he complained to his DADA Professor.

"That just indicates how serious Harry is about learning in that class. You know that these actions were approved by Harry and me. It was clear that he needed solitude for his external studies," Professor Lupin explained. "We had drawn out these in details and you've even approved of them. See here is the contract."

Professor Dumbledore was burping as he was reading everything. The list of spells to deter any interruption of Harry's studies was indeed part of the contract. He could only say, "Buu.. urrrp… But I didn't… rrurpt… mean for any… burp… Professooorrrrupp… any of us to… bee urrp… affected."

Remus shielded a grin behind his hand, turning slightly away. When he had finally composed himself he was able to answer. "The contract clearly states anyone, no exceptions, and that even includes Harry's ward, _anyone will be affected_, myself included."

Albus just frowned, showing his displeasure at such methods, but Remus was indeed right because the contract had been approved and signed by all participants. The old man sighed and thought, '_I'll have to find another way to speak to the boy._' He was convinced that Harry needed him to assist in his learning, '_Whatever he thinks is necessary to learn, that brat can very learn from me._'

--

The time was getting close to the first Quidditch match of the year and Draco was looking forward to competing against the Ravenclaws. He had been able to convince Harry that the teen needed to get outside and fly more. He wheedled and cajoled him until the ex-Gryffindor agreed to play 'Seeker' for his new House, while Draco played in the 'Keeper' position.

"You must show House pride for your new House, Harry," Draco told him. "You don't need to have more enemies in there, than you currently have."

Harry snorted and then thought about it for while. He finally agreed, but that was only because Pansy was his number one enemy now in that House. Some of the others didn't mind him too much, but Blaise was fast climbing up the short list, along with Crabbe and Goyle.

His other enemies were, of course, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger. This was only because they seemed to enjoy trying to attack him. It never worked, but every time they failed they became even more pissed off that it wasn't working.

Even Coba had gained his own version of a school boy rival in the form of one Mathew Weasley. That Gryffindor had tried everything to get him in trouble. It was a very memorable Potions class when whatever ingredient Matt and other Gryffindors were trying to throw into Coba's cauldron, the cauldron prevented it.

--

**Flashback**

"Mr. Potter," Professor Snape snapped at the first year Hufflepuff. "Would you mind telling me why you have potions ingredients in… what looks like soap bubbles floating around your cauldron?"

Coba wasn't cowed in the least and he knew that Snape had to act that way towards him. However he did give a truthful answer. "These ingredients, Sir, are not mine. I don't know who they belong to…" he drifted off, not wanting to tattle.

"Explain how this…" the Professor couldn't even find the words to express his confusion, although every other student in the room only saw his anger. There were three different types of ingredients floating in what looked like a bubble, suspended just to the side of the bubbling cauldron.

"It's the cauldron sir," Coba started to explain. "It's been specially made for me and has protections on it to prevent unwanted ingredients from… um… _accidentally_ falling in."

Professor Snape had never heard of such a thing and frowned at the thought that Coba could possibly be lying. In either case he knew what he had to do. "Five points from Hufflepuff and detention today," he said. "You will come here after your last class and serve it. Is that understood?"

Coba nodded quickly and said, "Yessir."

"Well… What are the rest of you doing?" The Professor barked at the students that were staring at either the ingredients or at the fact that a student was getting blasted for not following the instructions. "All of your potions should be near completion and yet I find that most of them are not even half way done. If they are not completed today, you will all have to return Saturday afternoon to finish."

When the first years heard this, they quickly returned to their cauldrons and hoped that they had a chance to salvage and finish them. That Saturday was the first Quidditch game of the year and it was Ravenclaws versus Slytherins. None of them wanted to miss it, but that's exactly what the Professor threatened them with. It was something that they couldn't understand because he was the Head of Slytherin House. How could he possibly want to miss one of the Slytherin's scheduled matches?

He was smirking to himself about the whispers in the room and the whispers that were going to circulate around the school. '_As if I'd miss any Quidditch game that my Slytherin's play in,_' he thought. He couldn't wait to see if any of these brats would figure out that a substitute teacher has already been scheduled to monitor any Saturday detention that he may give when his Slytherins are scheduled to play.

Later that same day, when the last bell for classes rang, Coba returned to the Potions classroom, hoping that he would not have to clean any cauldrons, but suspected that he would anyway. He knew that Severus wanted to know what was up with his personal cauldron, as it was not exactly the same as all the other pewter ones, size two that the first years were supposed to get.

"Sir," he said knocking on the door.

"Enter," the Potions Master said. "Over there," he said pointing out four huge cauldrons, iron size 5, waiting by the sink for cleaning.

Coba sighed, but knew this was good practice for the times he would need to clean his own stuff at home. Severus still hadn't seen the Potions Atelier that was set up in the basement of Draco's house, but then again the boys were correct to remain hidden for the rest of that summer. Once the Professor knew that they had safely escaped Malfoy Manor, they did not seek them, but the boys were questioned in their first week of school by them as they were concerned.

The Hufflepuff began to clean them by using a special rinse that the Professor pointed out. It was to neutralize the remains of the goop clinging to the insides of these particular cauldrons. Coba was curious to know what kinds of potions are made with this size and type of metal cauldron.

"Sir, may I ask you a few questions while I work?" He asked curious and wondering if the Professor was really mad at him or he was just not happy to be in the dark regarding a tool for potions, as that was what cauldron truly were. They were tools.

"As long as you work," Severus confirmed. He had been curious himself to see if Coba would actually accept the Detention or just come to explain himself and that cauldron of his.

"What kinds of potions would require a cauldron of this size? Is this cauldron good for making large quantities or batches of potions that are used everyday? What about the proportions of ingredients for these things?" The cauldrons were huge and heavy, so naturally he was curious. They were about the size of Hagrid's boots, melted and mashed together to form one large cauldron and he had to wash five of them.

Harry and Draco knew about his interest in potions, but Severus never truly believed anyone interested in potions would show such an interest as early as Coba. Even Severus' own interest in Potions didn't flair until his second year at Hogwarts. It was rare that anybody found their life's interest at a young age, but when they did, they studied with all their might to achieve great things, hence Severus being one of the youngest Potions Masters in the known Wizarding World.

"Stop," Severus said, interrupting the rattling questions. He looked at the boy and found that Coba was truly interested to know the answers. The boy had paused to look at the man, but then turned around to continue the cleaning that was asked of him.

"Two of these were used to create large batches of a special salve, requested by Madam Pomphry for the infirmary. It works really well on open wounds and cuts. The others were used by the fifth year students in order to learn how to work together mixing hard ingredients that required two and three man teams to stir the contents."

Coba looked at the cauldrons with a different eye now. "Whoa… Thank you for telling me," he said and continue his task.

Once the neutralizer has done its work, the young Hufflepuff rinsed out each cauldron. He made sure that they were all around an area near the sinks in the room, where a part of the floor was raised, creating a lip or edge surrounding a floor drain.

Next he filled one eighth of each with water, he added a bit of soap and then he took a clean unused mop swishing the inside of the cauldrons and effectively washed them that way. Next he tilted them in the direction of the drain to allow the soapy water to run free. As that was happening, he used his mop to wash the outside of the cauldron, repeating these actions for remaining four.

Severus watched on wondering how the boy had even thought of the drain in the floor. His older students had never even cottoned on that the thing was there. He shook his head and wished that he could award points to the Hufflepuff for thinking of it, but he knew that he had never given any student from any other House, points.

Coba then found a water hose near the drain and began the lengthy process of rinsing every cauldron that he had washed. Once that was done, he knew that they had to dry on a rack, but looking around the room he couldn't find it. "Sir," he called out. "Where's the drying rack for these?"

The Potions Professor was startled out from his thoughts and smirked. "Obviously not in this room," he said. He knew that he had aroused the curiosity in the boy further. "They get stored in here," he opened a hidden door next to the sinks and levitated the dripping cauldrons onto a very specific rack made just for them.

"The cauldrons dry in here. This room is specially sealed off from the outside environmental influence of the castle. Think of it as being something like luggage magics. It is a pocket that is just slightly out of phase from the normal magics," he explained to the curious Hufflepuff. "Now would you mind telling me about your _own_ cauldron and why it is different from the other students?"

Coba looked down and said, "I didn't think that you'd mind since whatever was done to it doesn't affect the potions in any way, shape or form."

"I _don't_ mind," Severus said trying to comfort his Godson's ward. "I'm just curious to know about it. How does it work? What else does it do? Why do you have such a thing in the first place? More importantly, where can I get one?"

Coba looked at the man shocked, but then he smiled, getting one in return. "Really?"

"Really, really," Severus confirmed in the manner from the one Muggle movie that, Coba dragged Harry, Draco and the rest of them to go see. He had never thought about the mush that passed for entertainment in the Muggle World, but he didn't seem to mind this one, as it had super funny bits for the adults and the kids.

"I don't know where you can get one, but…" he paused, leaned in and whispered. "I'd talk to Harry about it. He's the one that played with them."

"Them?" Severus had to ask.

The cheeky little Hufflepuff smiled and nodded. "Draco's, mine and his were all slightly modified for fun. You may recall how fascinated he was about the compensatory stuff in the Wizarding World for the deaf or the blind. Well it seems that he bought several types of things, cauldrons just being one them and he played with them. They were effectively changed according to ideas that we were throwing around during the summer."

"What kinds of ideas?" The Potions Master asked his curiosity getting the better of him. "I think it would be best if I know what to expect during their classes and yours, don't you?"

"I guess…" Coba hesitated, but continued on to explain. "My cauldron is based on one of the ones for blind Wizards. Apparently these cauldrons can be pre-programmed to _know_ what ingredients are expected within it. Also, if the potion maker is playing around and experimenting it can also record what ingredients are being placed within it and how that ingredient has been rendered.

For example: say the maker took a sliver of unicorn horn and crushed into course pieces, only to choose to use one piece, then the maker would say, _Sliver of Unicorn Horn, crushed, one piece_, which the cauldron records for them, then it prints in out on parchment with the rest of the experimental process."

Severus understood that part of it, but he wanted to know how Harry played with it. "I get that and I've seen them work, but what did Harry do to change yours."

Coba smiled and explained. "He fine tuned it, so that I could pre-program my cauldron to _know_ the ingredients needed for a particular potion. Anything '_extra_', like even my own dandruff or maybe eye-lashes would be prevented from falling _accidentally_ into it. He didn't know which House I would choose, but he knew that sometimes there tended to be ingredient slingers in Potions class and he didn't want me to fail because of them."

The Potions Master was very much aware that some students tended to sling ingredients, but… "How did your cauldron know which potion I would make you do today?"

"Oh that's easy," Coba said. "My cauldron has all of the first years potions pre-programmed in it. All I have to do is mutter the name of the potion and then it's ready for me to do my work. It will not monitor, the ingredient size or the method that I used to render them because Harry says that I need to learn how to interpret that, but him and Draco both agreed that additional unwanted ingredients were something that I shouldn't have to worry about in first or second year. It does know the order of the ingredients that I plan to put in, so nothing goes in out of order, but that's all."

"So what will happen if another student throws the ingredient that the cauldron is waiting for, but it's not rendered properly or it is the wrong amount to what you need?" Severus asked.

"Then I'm in trouble," he grinned mischievously. "Seriously, though. It's just something that I will have to learn and watch out for. It's not like we don't know what a potion will look if too much or too little of something is put in it. I mean the books are clear about that."

"There you are," Draco said from the door to the Potions Classroom. "You two realized that you've missed dinner."

"Oops," Coba said. He looked over at the Potions Master who stood up, packing away the corrections that he was planning to do later that evening.

"Since it is partially my fault," he said. "We will continue this discussion in my rooms, where you will be fed young man."

Coba beamed up at the Potions Master. "Really?"

"Really, really."

"Can I ask you more questions about potions?" He voiced out loud.

Severus just nodded and shooed boys out of the room. Draco followed and soon Remus and Harry were there too, which was a good thing because once there the Potions Professor asked about the older boys' cauldrons and what he should be expecting from them.

Harry and Draco looked at one another and smirked. Turning their grin back to the Potions Master they began to explain…

--

**Flash-forward**

The stands were full and the students were ready to cheer for their favourite players. All except the Gryffindors, they had more reason to go out and shout against the '_Traitor_' Harry Potter, rather that to cheer on the game. He was never supposed to have been re-sorted out of their House and they were still offended that he did this without notifying anyone.

Harry didn't care as they never contacted him or even returned a reply to his summer mail. He did receive a few from Neville, Luna and Dean stating that they were traveling and would not be able to continue their correspondence. Harry understood and was quite happy that they wrote back, but as for Ron, Hermione and Ginny, he was not so forgiving because they were supposed to have been closer to him then the others. They certainly wanted it to seem like that in the past.

In the end he didn't care what their plans were for the school year and since they didn't care to find out about him this summer, he let his Slytherin side carry the grudge. He joined the Slytherin Quidditch team just because he wanted to continue flying. He decided to open a Flying Club with Madam Hooch's permission only for the first and second years to show them some things that they would never learn in her classes.

It wasn't like all the students wanted to learn how to fly, but he was permitted to assist her with the first year lessons. He had a plan and wanted to teach them a couple of things. She made him fill out training forms and a sort of lesson plan for the little Club. He also booked the Quidditch pitch for Sunday afternoons from one to three and from three to six on Wednesdays.

This way he could show them what they wanted to know and it wouldn't matter if some of the second years were known reserves for their House Teams. This was a way for them to gain additional practice and not worry about the older years getting too rough with them.

This has been going on since the beginning of the year and many first and second years were there to cheer for the honourary coach. It didn't matter to them what House he was in because he treated all of the same no matter what House they chose to be in or were sorted into.

It was easy to focus back on the game because the announcer called them to attention with such comments like; "Oooooh, that was a close one folks, the two Bludgers almost hit the Slytherin Seeker. A nice flying twist and he's out of the way."

The audience is pulled to towards the Chasers and Keepers now since the Seekers have moved up and away from the other players and the Bludgers. "The Quaffle soars and there's another 10 ten points for Ravenclaw, who're leading with 50 points. Come on Ravens show them how you fly."

"Seamus!" Professor McGonagall said, trying to pull him back to the reporting mode.

"Wow, that was a nice bit of flying by the Slytherin Keeper, Draco Malfoy, prevented yet another goal. Wait a minute it looks like he ordering…" They all watched the new tactics of the Slytherin Chasers and yes… "Yes, the Slytherin Seeker caught the Quaffle and tossed it to the lead Chaser. The Seeker has gone back up into the clouds and with that move the Slytherins have scored two more times."

"Pay attention Ravens the Snakes are... Oops, there goes the Ravenclaw Seeker, but it doesn't look like the Slytherin one has seen the Snitch."

"Nope it was just a bad tactic, Potter didn't follow because there was no snitch, but what a minute where did he go…" Everyone in the stands, were now seeking the Silver and Green of Harry's new House, but they couldn't find him.

A Bludger whizzed by the Judges' box, behind it was the snitch following it and suddenly the only thing they saw was a gloved hand holding the snitch and Harry hanging upside down, with the tail of the broom straight up. It was nothing like they had ever before because no one had master the art of just hovering in one spot like that before.

Sure they knew of some Dare-Devilers that did stunts like that, but that was done with supervision and a medical team ready for anything. Harry just hung there without a care in the world. He just gave them an upside down smile and said, "I have the Snitch, Seamus. One hundred and fifty points for Slytherin…"

Harry pulled away and sped up to the referee so that she could blow the whistle, which she did as soon as he had shouted that he had the Snitch. The game was stopped and there was the proof in his hand.

The first and second years went wild, screaming and jumping in the stands. The Slytherins were also going nuts and many forgot that it was Potter that won the game for them, they just wanted to party. Some of the Hufflepuffs and Gryffindors applauded for the good game and most of the other Gryffindors booed the winners.

That was OK because all Harry could see was the huge grin on his boyfriend's face and he knew that he would be getting thoroughly snogged when they returned to their room, after they showered off the sweat of their hard work. The winning team circled the stands and soon were in the locker room, getting ready for their first House party of the year.

--

**TBC…**


	19. A Halloween Disaster

Disclaimer, Author's Notes, & Warnings: SEE PROLOGUE

**LEGEND:**

"Normal Talk"  
'_Thoughts or Emphasis_'  
(...Parseltongue...)

--

Chapter Eighteen – A Halloween Disaster, So what else is new?

--

**Halloween**

As with all things, the students were fully ready to enjoy the Halloween Holiday at the end of October. Harry was a little wary about this day because Voldemort always has a tendency to do something on this day. He only hoped that no one would be affected by the potential attack at the school, but he just didn't trust that Dark Bastard any further than he could toss him. That day didn't go too well in their classes before the feast either.

Severus saw first hand the evidence of Harry's meddling with the cauldrons belonging to the two young men in the sixth year class. Harry and Draco's were about the only ones that survived intact. "Ten points to Slytherin for protecting their potions correctly."

Hermione had the audacity to demand, "Just how did they know the correct methods to protect their cauldrons when you've never taught the spells for it."

"Yeah," Ron agreed and angrily spat out. "They must have cheated!"

"If you two wish to have detention today, just continue on with your accusations," Professor Snape stated. "Oh and ten points from Gryffindor for you cheek."

Hermione was livid and Ron was turning as red his hair. It looked like he was about to explode, but for some odd reason Neville's potion was also one of the ones that succeeded in being completed properly. He had walked up to the Professor's desk to place his finished potion on it.

The Potions Master raised his eyebrows at the audacity of _this_ Gryffindor, but he only noted that the colour was slightly off. "Mr. Longbottom, next time ensure that you slice roots more evenly and slightly thinner. I believe you will be happier with the result. This potion can still used as it is, but with a minor modification. Can you tell me what modification you need to do in order to make it so?"

Neville looked at the man and suppressed his shudder of fear, as being around that man had never made him comfortable. He looked at the potion and then answered the question with a sure tone. "Another sliver of the Dragon-Weed root and a very small pinch of course Sugar Cane," he said.

Again the Professor was surprised, but he didn't let it show. "You may clean up and go," the Potions Master said. "Two foot essay on the correction you've suggested and another two feet on how the potion can be altered further for another species."

"Which species?" Neville asked, not wanting to turn in something that the Potions Master did not want.

"Surprise me," the man said and then he turned to the other students and barked out. "The rest of you that have not successfully completed this potion will be making it up to this coming Saturday at 8am. No exceptions, be here or you will fail this portion of your class. That does include you Miss Granger, as your potion is in about the same state as you boyfriend's. Now all of you clean up and leave."

There were grumblings among the students and most felt that it was the Gryffindors' fault because they decided to throw the ingredients to Draco's and Potter's cauldron. A couple had been caught off guard, but this was different. Whatever was sent to the boys' cauldrons was immediately '_returned to sender_' and into their own cauldrons.

It was as though the boys' cauldrons could not accept anything that hadn't been rendered or added by either Harry or Draco. Everyone could see that they had pooled their work and each had shared in the rendering and preparation for the ingredients in their potion. They were able to add ingredients to each others cauldrons and that was how they were able to complete what they needed to do in order to finish it on time.

There were about only five students in the class that had completed their potions, to which Severus had already graded based on how they all kept their cool and the final results. He was surprised by Longbottom, but the other was Amanda Bones. Hers was perfect and there wasn't anything that he could do about that.

The last one belonged Blaise Zabini and he had to do the same homework as Longbottom, Bones, Potter and Malfoy, which was to find the specific modifications to this potion in order to be able to administer it to another species. They didn't know, but there were infinite modifications and numerous species that this potion could be adapted to.

So when their Professor said, "Surprise me." He meant it because he was collecting this information for a paper he was in the process of writing. He wanted to list the species and species specific modifications for this potion. He would, of course, acknowledge any student who contributed a new species and the species specific modifications, but it's not like they would know about until it had been written.

All of the other students had detention because their cauldrons either melted or their potions had absolutely flopped. None of them were happy that they now had to repeat this class so early on a Saturday morning, but at least it wasn't after the last bell of today. They were all anxious for the Halloween Feast.

They never knew that Severus had a sweet tooth and never wanted to miss the Halloween Feasts. He's never give a detention during any of the Holiday type feasts that the school was scheduled to give. He just never showed his pleasure during them or else it could be seen as a weakness. Plus he didn't want to become a target to sweetened pranks from any of the students. Although he was sure that the Weasley twins suspected that he had yen for sweets.

At the last bell of classes the students all rushed to their rooms to put away the things that they didn't want and others only held onto the work that they were planning to complete after the Feast. Many were racing to the Great Hall to see if some pre-treats were set out. Others wanted to see if the charms and baubles that they had made in Transfiguration and Charms Class were set up on display.

The first years had never seen such a display of magics, other then the ghosts or portraits and paintings in the classes, dorms and corridors. This was a display of frivolous magics and most couldn't wait to see how the school or Great Hall would be decorated for the Yule season.

Soon the Great Hall was filled with eager young things waiting for the evening feast to begin. Even some of the Professors…(whispered undertone… Snape) were just as eager to get the candies, toffees and chocolates that have become part of the Festival of Spirits. It was unfortunate that the original Pagan celebrations were taken over by the Muggle version at the school, but it was still fun.

Muggles, Muggleborn and Muggle-raised did not know that after all of _their_ celebrations were done and they were tucked away safely in their beds. There was another more subtle celebration that took place in several secluded rooms of the school. The Purebloods and Wizard-raised celebrated in their own fashion the magical form of the Festival of the Spirits.

However there was still the Dark Lord's plans to contend with before all of that and Voldemort was very eager to have this happen. It was his own tradition and he definitely couldn't leave even one year of Harry's education alone. This year he had something slightly and delightfully (in his own mind) different planned. '_Hopefully,_' he thought. '_The little shits in that bloody school will piss their collective pants at the evil that I can do._'

"PETTIGREW," he shouted, calling for the betraying rat of a man to come before him. He watched that fat little man scurry and scramble towards him with a poor attempt to kiss the hem of his robes. He booted him in the face and stated, "Don't bother! Tell me, has everything been set up and ready for their pitiful Feast."

"Yeth, By Loord," he slurred out due to his broking nose. He was used to it, but this was the third time in the past month that the Dark Lord had booted him, period. Usually he was quicker at turning away so that he wouldn't be booted in the face, but he was just not lucky today.

Voldemort grinned evilly in anticipation to the outcome of his plans. He didn't include his Potions Master in this because that man had to act naturally to the events. His only hope was that no one would realize how it was done. He had another little spy in the school, but this time the person was un-Marked, but completely loyal to him.

"Perfect," he said. "Make sure that I get the memories from our little spy. I want to view them as soon as possible."

"Yeth, By Loord," Pettigrew said. He waited until the Dark Lord had instructed all of the other Death Eaters to attack a couple of Muggle Suburbs and then left when they were all dismissed.

The Dark Lord was anticipating on sleeping well after he viewed the panic that was scheduled to be caused in his name at his old school and in those awful card-board Muggle neighborhoods.

Cackling periodically, he waited not quite patiently, but he waited for the results.

--

The "little" spy in the school was ready for the event to occur. They had ensured that the Dark Lord's plan would go off without a hitch. It was tricky business to re-charm these blasted things, but in the end the camera-like charms and the small pensieve were ready to record the upcoming events in Hogwarts' Great Hall.

--

The students were all in the Great Hall were waiting through Dumbledore's somewhat lengthy speech.

"Children and Professors," he paused briefly, getting their attention. "Once more the Festival of Spirits is upon us. We give thanks to those that have passed on before us…" blah, blah, blah…

He gave some points for beginning accomplishments and student improvements, which embarrassed the hell out of the ones he named in the Hall. They were not expecting that. He also stated that some students had been disciplined for entering the Forbidden Forest. Therefore he cautioned all once more that the Forest was not a friendly place. The next time a student was caught where they were not supposed to be, specifically without a teacher's written authorization, they would be suspended for the period of one week away from the school.

None of the Professors had been notified of that, but once something like this is mentioned in the Great Hall, no matter the occasion, then it somehow becomes a school by-law for the remainder of the year. The other Professors were noticing an increasing number of these, as the Headmaster was prone to babbling and then, suddenly adding a '_New Rule_' in the school's policies.

His speech was nearing the end and everyone was almost ready to hex the man for it.

"…in conclusion, let the Feast begin." He said calling forth the special Halloween meal filled with candies and pies. There were mountains of lollypops, piles of chocolate, licorice of many rainbow colours and all sorts of candy that were mostly found in the Wizarding World.

Cream pies filled the spaces in between with ice-cream treats in ever-chilled bowls, to prevent melting. Tarts and mini-pies were intermixed with cookies and deserts of all kinds. Most of the students were ready for this, as they had asked their parents for anti-sickness potions, in case they ate too much.

The Potions Master had planned for this and made the thirds students years and up make the anti-nausea potion for the infirmary. Of course he claimed that it was a test for all the years and the older students had to create from memory. That was a little tricky, but he was pleased when many turned out acceptable potions.

What they were not ready for was when the clock struck the 19th hour or 7:00pm for you non 24 hour clock folks!

By the seventh bell of the hour and the final gong of the Great Clock, most of the carved pumpkin ornaments, with evil grins and glowing smiles, hovering in the air with charms… EXPLODED IN THE AIR!

Squishing sounds were heard. Drips of slime and seeds were felt as they landed in the student's hair and faces. Several squishy, slurpy thuds were heard, as pumpkin carcasses landed in the plates of many students. These students were most of the known '_Blood Traitors_', '_Muggle-Raised_', and '_Mud-Bloods_' of the school.

Once the goop was removed from their collective faces, the first one to realize that what they were seeing began to scream and shriek in sheer terror. They were looking at the severed head of one of their parents. That set off the rest of the students, as many were looking at what had landed in their plates. Terror and tears were the biggest reactions and many more were just panicking and running from the tables trying to head for the doors of the Great Hall.

The heads looked like they had been removed from the body for a while and preserved until this day, when all the spells holding it together collapsed and the facial features began to melt. Others slowly realized that some of the gook that landed on them was actually blood from the exploding pumpkins.

In front of Draco was the head of his beautiful mother. "I don't believe it," he shouted. "No, no, NOOOOOOO!" Tears started to fall and he turned towards Harry, burying his face in the strong shoulder of his significant other. His tears staining robes of the young man he loves.

Harry was soon assaulted by another clinging form. It was his ward, as the boy noticed the '_head_' that was in front of one of his guardians belonged to his Grandmother. "It's not true," he whispered tearfully. "It's not really Gran, is it?"

Harry just gathered them in his arms and held them. He anchored himself with them, preventing them from leaving his side. He then used his '_Tinker Sight_' to see what he could see and then he sighed in relief.

"It is for some of them," he whispered sadly to the ones holding him and some of the others at his House table. "Not for us and not for your friend Rose. I'd have to look at all of them to know, but the one in front of us is actually a '_Polyjuiced_' pig's head."

The Headmaster was able to calm most of the students and usher them out of the Great Hall. There were some that refused to leave, but that was understandable as it was their parent's decapitated head that they were staring at and crying hysterically over.

Draco waited until most of the students had left. He was disgusted at the thought that some of these were actually real. He stood up suddenly causing the remaining Professors and students to look at him. "This is unacceptable," he said.

Harry stood up and nodded. Coba was still wrapped around him, waiting to see what they would do. Draco turned to Harry and asked, "Can you unmask the fakes?"

"Yes," the ex-Gryffindor said. He gently moved Coba into the arms of his other guardian and moved to the front of the Slytherin table. He chanted a few hissing words and the heads that were fakes were glowing in pink. A few more _Parseltongue_ words that caused many people to shudder also made the glowing heads revert back to their original porcine form. Then he moved onto the next table and the next, until there all the fakes were revealed and there were only 7 real human heads remaining.

"That's the best that I can do," he said.

He looked at the remaining students in the Hall with an air of sadness for them. There were some that were confused about why the head in front of them did not change like the others. Harry turned his saddened eyes to the Professors that had watched his progress.

"Those ones are real," he told them sadly, walking back to his table where Coba and Draco were waiting for him.

Coba's friends had crowded around Rose, while he was with Harry and Draco. "Can I stay with you guys tonight? Can my friends come too?"

Draco nodded, it was his room and it was the biggest in the Slytherin dorms, so there was extra space for them all. It wasn't like they couldn't use magic to accommodate all of them. "Of course you can. Why don't you go and collect them?"

Coba grinned at the thought of getting his friends together in a safe place. "Rose," he said.

She stared at the pig's head that was once her own mother's. "I don't understand," she said looking at them with lost eyes.

"Draco said we can stay with him and Harry tonight," Coba said. "All of us. Just grab whatever kit you have here and let's go. We'll send a house-elf to get your sleeping things."

Nazir and Arianna agreed, picking up their stuff and Rose's too.

They looked at the other students and noticed that those whose parents actually turned out to be pigs' heads were being escorted to the infirmary for calming potions. The seven remaining were being taken by their Heads of House to a secluded office or room in order to privately try to '_Call Home_' or get in contact with someone who'd know what happened.

Harry and Draco were waiting for Coba and his friends at the doors to the Great Hall. Remus walked up to them and asked, "Harry could you please stay behind?"

"Why?" He asked, but then he looked in the direction of the Gryffindor table that Remus was facing. Hermione was crying and looking really lost. "Ron left her?"

"Yes," his honorary Godfather said. "He left after he threw up. His Mum was one of the ones that turned back into a pig."

"All right," Harry said. "You guys go on ahead and don't forget to wash up." He hugged Draco and whispered, "I shouldn't be too long."

Draco nodded and then he prodded the first years gently to get them to leave the Great Hall so that the others could be taken care of.

--

Harry walked over to the Gryffindor table and '_Scourgified_' the area around Hermione, plus her clothes. "Hermione," he said gently.

She turned her tear filled eyes to look into his compassionate ones. She didn't see pity, she saw understanding and right now it didn't matter what colour his robes were. "Harry," she choked out, reaching tentatively towards him. "Why?"

"I don't know," he said. He reached to her and hugged her while she cried fresh tears for her loss. "The Order had better have an explanation," he said in the direction of the Headmaster, who was coming to see them. "I thought that her parents were protected."

Remus was there to keep an eye out on them, as other Professors were handling the other students whose parents' heads were still on the dining tables. He waited until the Headmaster arrived. "Albus," he said. "What is going on? Didn't you get anything from…"

The Headmaster held up his hand to stall him. "Miss Granger," he addressed the distressed Gryffindor. "I will be getting to the bottom of this, I promise you. I'm about to go to my office, would you…"

"We're going too," she said. "You had better not hide anything from me." She was now letting her anger at the situation control her, but it was a step in the right direction.

"Very well," the old man said.

--

Meanwhile, Draco had four little ones that were fussing and settling in his rooms. "Why don't you girls use our private loo first and get changed? Boys you can go to the main ones in the hall or wait your turn."

"We'll wait," Coba said and Nazir nodded his agreement. They didn't want to wander about in the corridors of the Slytherin House, not without some form of protection. They were not stupid.

Draco returned the nod and then he shrank his bed, that he shared with Harry, to tuck it away safely. He pulled out the one that was supposed to belong to Harry, but since they shared the other, they kept the extra in case of an emergency.

He took the mattress from the unused bed, enlarged it to a Super King Size. Then he duplicated it and performed an old sewing spell that sheared the mattress into three equal, but smaller pieces. As with all things magical, there was always the chance to transfigure something or alter, but sometimes there was a price for it.

In this case the mattresses were slightly smaller then a normal Double Size and they wouldn't likely last any another alteration, but because of the way he performed the spell. They were also slightly poofier and more comfortable then just taking a normal mattress and setting it on the floor.

"We'll keep these ones from now on," he said, as he finished his second set of three. "There's one for each of us."

The girl's had just returned and the boys were gathering their things for their turn in the private loo, when Harry walked in. He just walked over to Draco and hugged him, holding on to him.

Draco motioned the boys to continue on. He shooed the girls to continue about their business. As soon as he could he turned his attention to Harry.

"Are you all right?" He asked. The dark haired teen just shook his head and then he shuddered, as though he had learnt something very bad, indeed.

Harry sighed and just said, "I didn't think I would be surprised at just how manipulative that old man was. I really shouldn't have been that surprised. I'll tell you about it later. I promise."

Draco nodded and soon Harry turned around to look at the changes in the room. "I never had a sleepover as a kid, unless you want to count the times we were all forced to sleep in the Great Hall."

"Poor little Potty," Draco said mockingly, but not in any way to hurt his love. "You _were_ deprived. There's nothing much to a sleepover anyway, other than the chance to stay up late gossiping, eating lots of sugar and having pillow fights."

Harry just shook his head and lightly shoved Draco away, saying fondly, "Prat."

Draco just laughed and then changed into his kitten form and took a swipe at Harry. Harry was not one to let the challenge go unanswered. He changed and soon they were tumbling all over one of the mattresses in the room.

The girls were looking at them in wonder. This was the first time that they had seen Animagusi up close. They were sitting too far away on September 1st to see anything at the time, although Nazir and Coba did tell them about it.

"Oh look," Arianna said. "They're so cute."

"Aw," Rose echoed just the same. She had an equal fascination with all things cute and fluffy. "Aren't they adorable?"

"Geez," Nazir said to Coba. "It's like they've never seen kittens before." Coba just laughed and agreed.

"Is anyone hungry?" Coba asked.

He received several agreements and so he called in his house-elf, Bobbin, to get them something to eat. The food came and was placed on the low table that Draco had conjured, while Harry was in the washroom getting changed.

Once Draco was in his own sleepwear, he joined the kids at the table and they all continued their evening meal. There was less candy on the table, but that was because Winky was the one who made sure that they had something healthy, as well as fun to eat.

They all ate their candy, had their pillow fight, which is a requirement for many sleepovers. Then when they had settled down to talk about things because Rose had been confused about why her mother's head was there.

"I'm not a muggle-born and my family is certainly not known to be blood traitors," she said. "Why would her head be a part of this?"

Arianna had an idea that it may have had something to do the corresponding _Howlers_ that she and her mother had been exchanging ever since Rose chose to be a part of the Ravenclaw House instead of Slytherin.

"Rose," she said. "What about the '_Howlers_'?"

"What are _Howlers_?" Coba asked, shocking all of his friends and even his guardians.

Harry looked over at Draco and said, "Well it's not like we will ever act like Mrs. Weasley and send him those things."

Draco almost looked cross-eyed at that statement, but it was true that he would never consider doing such a humiliating thing. His own parents never did and not many of the Slytherin parents did either. It was a façade though because most Slytherins they hide their anger until it could be dealt with personally. Unfortunately, that kind of anger is known to fester.

"No," he said. "I certainly wouldn't do that either."

Coba was a little annoyed because no one told him what they were. "Well," he said getting their attention. "What are they?"

"I guess that the best description is a vocal recording that screams at you," Harry said. "But it's a paper letter spelled to do that. I never had to send one."

"I never received one," Draco said. "My father said it would be undignified to send or receive one."

"Oh," Coba said. "But what does Arianna mean about _Howlers_ with you, Rose?"

Rose looked pained, but told them. "My mom didn't like the fact that I wasn't sorted into Slytherin. She wanted me there to follow Pansy's footsteps in order to snag an acceptable betrothal match, like the one my cousin has with Draco."

Draco blinked at that and said, "What? Does your mother really believe that Pansy and I have betrothal contract?"

Harry looked at the blond Slytherin, wondering what was going on. He asked, "What's a betrothal contract?"

"Geez, you were deprived," Draco exclaimed. He really didn't want to explain the betrothal contract system of the Wizarding World, but it looked like he had to. "It's a marriage contract that is signed by your parents, agreeing to align their family with another. When you're older, around sixteen or seventeen, the contract can be reviewed and by mutual decision nullified or re-signed by the named parties within. If one party wants to sign, but the other doesn't, then the family that doesn't want it has to pay compensation for a breach of contract."

"Did you have a contract like that set up for you?" Harry asked his dragon, slightly worried about what that would mean.

"No," Draco said. "I asked my mother this summer and a contract of this nature has to be signed by both parents without coercion and she never signed one. My father didn't push for it either. When we went to Gringotts to settle the accounts this year, I made sure that there was nothing sitting in the vaults regarding anything of that nature."

"Can a contract of that nature be for anyone?" Harry asked curious about same sex pairs. "I mean are they only for a man and woman or can they be for same sex pairs?"

"Well, let me think," Draco said. "The only time that I heard anything about a same sex contract of this kind had occurred because the Healer made a mistake about the sex of the baby. When the time came the girls agreed to not become betrothed to one another."

"Could they have if they wanted to?" Coba asked. He was curious about that because in the muggle world in looked there was more female to female couples in the homosexual community that he knew about in his city.

"I suppose they could have," Draco said. "They could have gotten pregnant by other means. There are different methods for that to occur in the Wizarding World through spells and potions, but I don't that is an appropriate subject to discuss at this point in your lives."

The little ones agreed because they didn't _really_ want to know about such things. They wanted to have fun, like they're supposed to and talk of betrothals was too serious an issue for right now.

The older years didn't have trouble bedding the little ones down, as they made sure that they were tuckered out from an exhaustive pillow war. Harry lay next to Draco and basically wrapped his arms around the blond in order to comfort the shakes that the other youth was feeling.

Draco's thoughts returned to his reaction of seeing his mother's decapitated head and he was still shaking because of it. He turned into the arms of the one that held him and basically tried to hide under the larger frame.

He did notice that sometimes at night, Harry's body was longer and broader in the shoulders. He wasn't about to bring it up. It was obvious that the Boy-Who-Lived still had to maintain a weaker image for the Wizarding World. He was secretly glad that it wasn't so.

"Harry," he whispered. "Can you tell me what happened to Granger's parents?"

The dark-haired youth sighed. Then he slowly explained that Hermione's parents had been each kidnapped at different times. The Order never knew and neither did her father, as apparently her mother was caught first.

"Polyjuice," he said. "Her father knew nothing had changed because of _polyjuice_. Neither did the Order, until her father was taken too and by then it was too late. They were taken on the 23rd of last month and the Headmaster didn't even let her know. No hints, no notes, nothing from him to let her know. He claims that he didn't want her to be too upset as to be unable to complete her school work."

He chuckled and then told Draco that she hexed the meddling old man, but good. "His glasses are now tinted dark. He can't see through them and his damnable twinkle is evil looking now," he said chuckling. "His trademark sparkles of white have changed to other colours, none of which make anyone feel good. He'll lose the trust from the students because of it."

Draco chuckled too. "That's a bloody good hex," he commented. "I wonder where she found it."

"She probably made it up," Harry said. "She's brilliant and understands the meanings of words. If she never followed the rules like she feels she must, then she'd be quite the troublemaker."

The two slowly fell asleep whispering about this and that. They moved from topic to topic and they could even hear the first years having their own hushed conversations. It was obvious to both of them that Rose was going to have problems with her family, if that family continued to believe that Pansy was a proper young lady, when in fact she was known as the slut of Slytherin.

Such stories were never told outside of the school. Therefore Rose's parents only thought that they knew best, when they instructed the young girl to follow the footsteps of her older cousin. Of course, they never once asked her how she felt about it and when Rose brought it up, they ignored her concerns.

Harry knew that there had to be a way for Pansy's less than stellar activities to make news outside of the school. The question was how? What would be the best possible way to make it known, that the Slytherin girl was not what she portrayed to her own family.

He looked at the one that he loved and then thought, '_Severus and Remus will know the best legal way to expose her lies. Draco says that they have no contract and I believe him. So let's see if that is reason enough to challenge her claims._'

Draco drew a shuddering sigh, breathing the scent of his chosen one. He rolled in closer and fell asleep. He had a plan and that was enough to settle him. Harry sighed too and was soon sleeping soundly to the whispers of four intrepid youths making their own plots and plans for that sixth year female Slytherin prefect.

--

**TBC…**


End file.
